Man dies in fire started by chip pan

Conor Feehan

A MAN has died in a house fire in west Dublin in the early hours of this morning.

He was named locally as Seamus Phelan, who had been living on his own in the house in Lucan, and was believed to be in his fifties.

The alarm was raised at around 1.30am in the Esker Park estate when neighbours heard an alarm ringing and spotted smoke coming from the house.

Density

Gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade were alerted, and while a local garda patrol succeeded in opening the door of the house they were unable to gain entry due to the density of the smoke.

Fire crews with breathing apparatus searched the house when they arrived, and found Mr Phelan lying on the floor of the kitchen. It is believed the fire was started by a chip pan and the man's death is being treated as a tragic accident.

The house remained sealed off this morning pending a technical examination to positively establish the cause of the fire.

cfeehan@herald.ie