Five people including three children have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a house in New Ross.
The blaze started at around 3.30pm in the three-storey building on Mary Street in the Co Wexford town. The house is rented by a family originally from Poland.
A man in his 50s who was doing some building work on a neighbouring house noticed smoke coming out of the house and managed to help the man and three children who were in the building out to safety.
All five people involved were taken to University Hospital Waterford to be treated for smoke inhalation.
It is understood that the youngest of the children, who is under three years of age, was the most seriously injured and was in a serious but stable condition on Friday evening.
A number of units of the local fire brigade attended the scene, as did numerous ambulances and gardaí.