A man in his 80s has died following a house fire near Castlepollard, Co Westmeath.
The fire is understood to have broken out in the kitchen area of the house in Gilbertstown.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at about 1am on Wednesday after smoke detectors were set off in a neighbour’s house.
Local firefighter Alfie Devine described seeing “flames coming from the back of the house”.
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He said attempts were made to resuscitate the man before an ambulance arrived some 30 minutes later.
The man (89) was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was removed to the mortuary at Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar.
Mr Devine, who is also a Fianna Fáil councillor for the Mullingar-Kinnegad district, extended his condolences “to the deceased man’s family, friends and neighbours”.
He said that the man, who came from a farming background and was well known in the community, “was not well for the last few weeks”.
Gardaí are investigating the incident but foul play is not understood to be suspected.
