Inferno which killed six may have begun in kitchen

THE BLAZE which killed six members of a family in Co Laois and critically injured a seventh appears to have started in the kitchen of the house in the early hours of the morning.

The fire started shortly after 4.30 a.m. yesterday and completely destroyed the end of terrace house at Marian Hill, Portarlington, where 11 of the 13 member Maher family lived.

One of the survivors - 25 year old Laois county footballer Colm Maher - remained critically ill in St James's Hospital Dublin, early today.

Firemen said he had been trying to carry his two year old sister to safety when the stairs collapsed. He was airlifted from Tullamore General Hospital to St James's, where he is being treated for severe burns.

Mrs Breda Maher (48), is thought to have died after going back into the house to attempt to locate some of the children. The others who died were her sons Mark (23) and Barry (12), and daughters Joanne (9), Fiona (5), and Martina (2).

Barry suffered from muscular dystrophy and had limited mobility. He had been due to attend yesterday's friendly international between Ireland and Croatia at Lansdowne Road.

Damage to the house was so great gardai and firemen could not establish the exact cause of the blaze. "It was such an inferno, there's no way you could hazard a guess - there was nothing left," one fireman said.

The alarm was raised at about 4.50 a.m. and Portarlington Fire Brigade was at the scene within 10 minutes, where it was joined by a second unit from Mountmellick. The blaze was brought under control within minutes, but firemen believe that all those inside were dead before they arrived.

Among those who survived the fire were Breda's husband, Aloysius ("Allo") Maher and two sons, Vincent (17), and Dominic (10), who was being treated for superficial burns in Tullamore. An 11 year old, Allo Jnr, was staying with friends the night before. Two other adult brothers live away from the family home.