This article is from page 4 of the 2009-12-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THREE young men arrested in con- nection with a suspicious fire in En- nis on Thursday have been released A Us oO LULMed OTHER
Gardai are describing the incident as “mindless vandalism” after a car and house were set alight at St Anne’s Terrace on Clon Road in the early hours of the morning.
The house was unoccupied at the
time as it was being renovated, but two other homes, which were occu- pied, were evacuated, after the emer- gency services were alerted to the in- cident at around midnight. However, the blaze hadn’t spread to the other homes.
The car – which was parked outside the house – was burnt out in the blaze, while considerable smoke damage was done to the house.
Three teenagers, who reside in En-
nis, were later arrested. One was re- leased without charge on Thursday and two others were released without charge on Friday night. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A technical examination of the scene was carried out on Thursday. Ennis Superintendent John Scanlan is urging members of the public who may have information on this inci- dent to come forward.
“This was mindless vandalism. We have had a lot of help from the general public and we are anxious to hear from anyone with information,” he said.
This was the third serious fire dealt with by the fire services in the county last week, after houses in Broadford and Scariff were damaged earlier in the week. A house in Scariff was gut- ted in the early hours on Wednesday and a garda investigation has been launched.
Clare County Council’s fire service has issued a warning to homeowners to take precautions in relation to fire safety around Christmas time. It says that safety must be exercised when it comes to Christmas lights. They should be purchased from a reputa- ble electrical supplier and must be fully uncoiled before use. Checks, to ensure lights are in good working order, should be carried out, while lights should be turned off when homeowners are out.
The fire service is also warning homeowners to make sure chimneys are clean and that spark guards are in place at night-time. Candles should not be left on if there 1s no-one in the room, while smoke alarms should be in good working order.
A fire safety routine should become a habit at night-time to include un- plugging sockets, keeping escape routes clear and closing all doors.