UPDATE: Shocking images show extent of devastating Longford house fire

The damaged remains of a house in Ardncassa following a fire last night

placeholder image — The damaged remains of a house in Ardncassa following a fire last night

These are the charred remains of all that is left from a two storey house in Longford town last night after a blazing inferno effectively gutted it from top to bottom.

The Leader, as first revealed on its website last night, reported how the blaze broke out at a property in the Ardnacassa area of the county town at around 8:30pm.

Fire crews, together with uniformed gardaí, arrived at the scene within minutes as efforts focused on not only wrestling control of the fire, but also to prevent it from spreading to adjoining houses.

The Leader attended the scene earlier today and, as our photographs show, the house in question was substantially damaged as a result.

There was no sign of any portion of the roof remaining with the front door, which lay open, showing significant smoke and fire damage to the downstairs hallway and stairwell area.

This newspaper also spoke to a number of locals, many of whom said they were either out or unaware of what was unfolding yards from their own front doors when emergency services arrived.

One local resident, nonetheless, revealed her friend and younger sister, were forced to evacuate their own home which lies adjacent to the affected house when the fire went up.

"She was in the house with her little sister and she heard the fire alarm go off but she thought it wasn't anything until she looked outside when she saw the fire," she said.

Gardaí, meanwhile, are continuing to try and piece together what may have caused the blaze with the results of a technical examination expected to form a large part of that ensuing investigation.

"Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene of a fire in Longford, which occurred last night, Friday 15th September 2023 at approximately 8.30pm,” said the spokesperson.

“No injuries have been reported at this time. The scene has been preserved for a technical examination.”