Gardaí investigate Mallow apartment fire that killed two men

Gardaí are keeping an open mind on the cause of a fire at an apartment complex in Mallow in north Cork that claimed the lives of two men and left another two people in a serious condition in hospital.

John Palmer (37), originally from Tymon North in Tallaght, Dublin, and Greg Lonergan (36), who had lived at a number of addresses in Cork city and county, both died in the blaze at the Granary Court apartment complex on St Joseph's Road.

Rescued

Mr Palmer's twin brother, Christopher (37), and their friend Rachel Crawshaw (27), were rescued from the blazing apartment and taken to Cork University Hospital, where they remained in an induced coma for much of yesterday after suffering severe smoke inhalation.

The alarm was raised shortly after midnight yesterday when another resident in the 33-apartment complex spotted smoke coming from a window in No 24 and contacted the emergency services.

Gardaí from Mallow were first at the scene and burst in the door of the top-floor apartment where they rescued Christopher Palmer and Ms Crawshaw, who were both in the smoke-filled hallway.

However, thick smoke prevented them from entering the other rooms as fire continued to spread through the two-bedroom apartment before firefighters from Mallow and Kanturk fire services began to battle the blaze.

Recovered bodies

Some 20 firefighters from Mallow and Kanturk prevented the fire from spreading to other apartments before making the area safe at about 3.30am, when firefighters with breathing apparatus entered one of the bedrooms and recovered the bodies of Mr Palmer and Mr Lonergan.

The bodies of both men were taken to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster with gardaí using dental records to formally identify both deceased.

Meanwhile, gardaí, under Supt Pat McCarthy of Mallow Garda station, have begun an investigation into the cause of the blaze, with the scene of the fire being cordoned off to allow Garda technical experts to carry out a forensic examination of the badly burnt apartment.

It is understood that gardaí found no sign of forced entry nor any obvious use of an accelerant that would suggest foul play but they did find there were three or four “seats” – the technical term for the area a fire starts – which has caused investigators some concern as it is unusual in fires that start accidentally.

Gardaí are expected to await the result of forensic tests on samples taken from the various seats of the fire, which may take a number of days to finalise before they are in a position to clarify and establish the exact cause of the fire.

Arson attack

Garda í at this stage do not believe the fatal fire is related to an arson attack on a ground- floor apartment in the same complex on February 26th when a petrol bomb was thrown at the front door.

Two women had to be evacuated and treated for smoke inhalation after that incident.