A 73-year-old widow who died in a house fire in Co Mayo early yesterday is believed to have lit candles earlier because of an ESB power blackout caused by continuing storms.
Mrs Eileen McAndrew, of Binghamstown, Belmullet, was alone in the back of the two-storey house where she lived alone when the fire took hold early in the morning.
Mrs McAndrew, whose maiden name was Bingham, was the last in line of the family which gave the tiny village of Binghamstown its name.
When firemen from Belmullet arrived, the roof and much of the building where Mrs McAndrew had been sleeping had collapsed.
It took fire officers several hours to recover the body. The victim had been in bed when the blaze began.
Local fire chiefs confirmed there had been a power blackout in the area which lasted from 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday to about 2 a.m. yesterday.
The mostly likely explanation for the blaze was that Mrs McAndrew had lit candles before retiring for the night, firemen said.
Mr Gerry Sweeney, who raised the alarm after spotting the flames at 1.50 a.m, said yesterday that by that time it was too late to help, as part of the roof had collapsed.
"The back section of the house was completely gutted", and there was significant damage to the older front part of the building," Mr Sweeney said.