Elderly man (80s) dies in overnight house fire

AN ELDERLY pensioner perished in a blaze that ripped through his home overnight.

Neighbours were alerted to the fire, which erupted in the Ballytruckle Court area of Waterford city, at around 4.30am this morning and raised the alarm.

Gardaí and units of Waterford Fire Brigade were at the scene within minutes.

Firefighters fought to extinguish the blaze and the body of a man was discovered and brought outside.

Emergency medical attention was given to the man, who was in his 80s, at the scene, but he was pronounced dead before he could be transferred to University Hospital Waterford (UHW).

The Office of the State Pathologist has been notified and a full post mortem examination is due to get underway.

So far, there is no suggestion the fire was started maliciously and the incident is being treated as a tragic accident.