The woman who died in a house fire in Castlebar, Co Mayo, early yesterday is believed to be a native of Achill Island. A male occupant of the house was injured in the fire.
The emergency services were notified of the fire at about 2am yesterday. The chief fire officer for Mayo, Séamus Murphy, said that when fire brigade units from Castlebar and Westport arrived at the scene smoke was seen coming from the three-bedroomed house in Glenfort estate, off the Newport road in Castlebar.
Fire-fighters found two people when they entered the house. A woman in her 50s was found on the first-floor landing and was pronounced dead at the scene. A man, also in his 50s, was found to be suffering from smoke inhalation and was transferred to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar for treatment. His condition is not serious.
It took fire crews about half an hour to bring the blaze under control.
The house was extensively damaged before the blaze was put out. The most extensive damage appeared to be in the kitchen area, suggesting that the fire might have started there. However, that has not been confirmed, and the chief fire officer said yesterday afternoon that investigations into the cause of the fire were continuing.
Gardaí cordoned off the area and technical experts began an examination of the scene yesterday morning.
The name of the woman who died was not being released by gardaí until next-of-kin had been informed.