Elderly man loses life following Ballinagh blaze

A man in his 80s died in a Dublin hospital last night having been rescued from a house fire in his home early in the day.

The elderly gentleman passed away despite the heroic efforts of two postmen who rescued him from his blazing home Wednesday morning.

The victim, who was the sole occupant of the house, lived near Ballinagh, Cavan.

Two postmen, who were delivering post, noticed smoke issuing from the house. They looked in the window and saw the householder lying on the floor. They managed to get into the house and take the elderly man out. He was still conscious and spoke to them. When they got him out they rang the fire brigade, ambulance and the Gardaí.

The victim of the house fire was brought into Cavan General Hospital, then subsequently transferred to the burns unit of St James' Hospital Dublin.

Sorcha O' Reilly of the Garda Press Office issued a statement on the incident: “We can confirm a fire took place in a premises in Ballinagh, Co Cavan on Wednesday the 7th of February 2018. A man in his 80s was brought to St James Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9pm.”