This article is from page 6 of the 2005-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A MAN and three young children were dragged out of their burning home in Shannon after it was set alight in suspicious circumstances in the early hours of Sunday.
George O’Shaughnessy (30), seven-year-old twin boys Evan and Lee and three-year-old tod- dler Sophie were asleep in upstairs bedrooms when the fire broke out at the bottom of the stairs at their home at Purcell Park, at around 6am.
Gardai and rescue services were on the scene within minutes, after a neighbour heard the fire alarm going off. Gardai Stephen Ryan and Gerry Flaherty from Shannon Garda Station — which is a stone throw away from the home — attempted to gain access through the ground floor of the house, but they were beaten back by the flames. They managed to get a ladder from a neighbour, to reach the family and carry them out through an upstairs window at the back of the privately-owned house.
All four were taken to the Mid-Western Re- gional Hospital, Ennis, as a precautionary meas- ure. They were treated for smoke inhalation, before being discharged a short time later. The young children are currently living with their peau WeKebaelOlssCoMBDOMNyercvIveLe)IE
Two units of the fire brigade from Shannon brought the blaze under control within an hour.
There was extensive smoke damage to the inside of the home, particularly to the hallway, stairs and landing. The Clare Scenes of Crime unit has examined the O’Shaughnessy home and the results of this examination will be sent for
forensic analysis to Garda Headquarters in Dub- thee
The results of that will determine exactly how the fire started, according to gardai. Mr O’Shaughnessy works locally in Shannon, and has lived there with his family for the past year- and-a-half, having previously lived in another part of the town.
“But for the swift actions of the two gardai, all four people who were in the house could
have died. I cannot commend the gardai highly enough,’ said Supt John Kerin.
‘The fire at the bottom of the stairs prevented rescue services from going in through the door so they had to get the children out through the back window,” he added.
A garda investigation has been launched and Supt Kerin said that gardai were “following a particular line of enquiry” in relation to the in- cident.