Gardaí believe a cigarette may have started the fire that claimed the life of an elderly woman at her home in Glasheen on the south side of Cork city over the weekend.
The woman, who lived alone at an apartment in Sheraton Court, was found dead by firefighters who were called to the blaze shortly before 3am on Saturday.
The alarm was raised by a neighbour.
A number of fire tenders responding to a less serious call were diverted to the fire in Glasheen.
Firefighters attempted to rescue the woman, who is believed to have been in her late sixties, from her home.
However, the apartment was ablaze when they arrived and they found the woman dead in her bedroom.
Gardaí sealed off the area and a full technical examination of the premises was carried out.
A Garda spokesman said the death was the result of a "tragic accident", adding there was nothing suspicious about the fire.
The woman's body was removed from the scene to Cork University Hospital where a postmortem examination was carried out. The victim's name has been withheld pending formal notification of her family.
This is the second fire fatality in Cork in just four days. Last Wednesday night Thomas Carmody (44), from Ballyphehane in the city died in a fire at a house on Airport Road.
Meanwhile, two men were being treated in hospital in Cork yesterday following a fire at a house in Courtown Drive in the northside suburb of Knocknaheeny on Saturday night. Their condition is described as stable.