25 people died in fires last year, according to the latest data from the Department of Housing. Chimneys remain the leading cause of house fires, followed by flues, hot ashes and soot, according to fire service figures. Local fire services responded to a 474 fires in the Shannonside region last year. Almost 20,ooo incidents of fire were attended by crews across the country last year.
This included 290 incidents in County Longford, 108 in Roscommon, and 76 in Leitrim. Of the 290 incidents in Longford, 54 were caused by chimney fires, while fire services also attended 23 vehicle fires. Longford town was the scene of a major fire in July of last year which caused extensive damage at the Grafton Court complex. In Roscommon, there were 39 chimney fires last year and 13 vehicle fires. Leitrim fire services attended 20 chimney fires and seven vehicle fires. There were also 25 forest or gorse fires in the Shannonside region including 16 in Roscommon.
