GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING a fatal fire in Cork city which claimed the life of an 84-year-old widower expect to conclude a technical examination of the scene today which they hope will reveal how the blaze started.
The man, named locally as John Cooke, was removed from his smoke-filled house on Churchfield Hill on Cork’s northside by firefighters using breathing apparatus, and rushed to the Mercy University Hospital where doctors battled unsuccessfully to save his life.
The father of well-known Cork local historian, Richard Cooke, Mr Cooke had lived with his other son, Thomas, who was out of the house when the blaze broke out at about 10.45pm on Tuesday.
The fire was spotted by neighbours, who raised the alarm and tried to gain access to the house but were unable to do so due to a combination of smoke and heat. It was only when three units of Cork City Fire Brigade arrived on the scene that Mr Cooke could be removed from a living room.
Gardaí under Supt Con Cadogan of Gurranebraher Garda station launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze and the house was cordoned off to allow Garda technical experts to carry out a forensic examination of the scene to establish whether any foul play was involved.
Meanwhile, Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem on the remains of Mr Cooke at Cork University Hospital, but gardaí were last night not disclosing the results of the autopsy for operational reasons.
However, The Irish Times understands that while gardaí have yet to conclude the forensic examination of the scene, they are inclined towards the view that there was nothing suspicious about the fire and that Mr Cooke’s death was a tragic accident.