Woman and toddlers killed in Dublin fire

A woman and two young girls have died following an apartment fire in Ireland.

Emergency services said the blaze broke out in the complex in the Clondalkin area of west Dublin at about 2.30am on Wednesday.

Fire rescue teams were on the scene within a few minutes and took two women and three children from the first-floor apartment.

Paramedics treated them in the grounds of the Cluainin Cronan complex next to the Grand Canal and used resuscitation techniques on them before they were transferred to hospitals by ambulance.

A 27-year-old woman and the girls, aged two and three, were pronounced dead at Tallaght Hospital, gardai said.

The second woman, in her 30s, and a four-year-old boy were said to be in a critical condition in Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin.

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said a number of 999 calls were made about the blaze, with the first alert coming in at 2.33am.

It is understood the first crews were on the scene within five minutes.

"We got numerous calls in about it which would indicate that the fire was noticeable. The fire alarm in the apartment had also gone off,'' a spokesman said.

Seven residents of apartments in the same complex were evacuated during the emergency.

Children's Minister Katherine Zappone said her thoughts and prayers were with all those affected by the Clondalkin fire.

Gardai appealed for witnesses to come forward.

The apartment complex has been sealed off, with a technical examination to try to determine the cause of the fire expected to take place later on Wednesday.

In a separate incident a number of people were injured after a blaze broke out in an apartment complex in Dominick Street in Dublin's north inner city.

Twenty people were either rescued or managed to flee the building and some of those who escaped the fire were treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

Eoin O Broin, Sinn Fein TD in Dublin Mid-West and an elected representative in the Clondalkin area for many years, said the people in the area were numb with shock.

It is terrible, heartbreaking news. And when young children are involved it strikes such a chord,'' he said.

The woman and boy who were being treated in hospital were said to have suffered the effects of smoke inhalation.

The apartment complex is used by the Saoirse Women's Refuge to provide short term accommodation for women and children.

Three other apartments in the building were not affected by the fire.

Inspector Ken McLaughlin, based at Clondalkin Garda station, said examinations were continuing to establish the cause of the fire.

I'd like to express our sincere sympathies for the families of those that are involved in this incident. It's a terrible tragedy,'' he said.

• Fatal