THE heartbroken husband of a mother of three who died in a house fire has paid tribute to a "wonderful woman who lived for her kids".
Jackie Ramdane died after a blaze engulfed her home in the early hours while she slept in her bedroom.
Children Kenza (15) and Isam (13) escaped jumping from an upstairs window into the arms of neighbours below.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at Monastery Grove in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, where firefighters battled the blaze.
Ms Ramdane was overcome by fumes, and her body was found in her bedroom at the rear of the house.
Investigating gardai believe a cinder from the fireplace may have set a clothes horse alight in the sitting room.
Ms Ramdane (47), who worked for broadband operator Imagine, had lived in the semi-detached house for 13 years.
Her husband, Mohammed Ramdane, who is originally from Morocco, said his children had made frantic attempts to get their mother to safety.
"The heat was so intense that they couldn't breathe. The children ran to the window in my girl's bedroom at the front of the house and opened it," he told the Herald.
"Both of them were calling out Jackie's name but it was dark and they couldn't see where they were going."
"She answered them back while they were at the window," he said.
SMOKE
"The kids were screaming 'come to us' but she couldn't because of the smoke, and there were no lights so they couldn't see anything.
"They said that she suddenly stopped talking and they didn't hear anything after that."
Both teenagers were treated for minor burns at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.
hnews@herald.ie