Fire breaks out in early hours in Wicklow
A DISCARDED cigarette thrown into a ditch is believed to be responsible for a fire that broke out in Rosehill close to a housing estate.
The fire in Wicklow town broke out on Wednesday morning just after 5 a.m. Residents raised the alarm after noticing smoke and flames billowing out of the ditch. Wicklow Fire Services also battled a woodland blaze at Ballinastoe for over five hours on Thursday.
A Discarded cigarette is believed to have started an early morning blaze in Wicklow town which threatened to spread to a number of houses.
The fire at Rosehill in Wicklow town started on Wednesday morning just after 5 a.m. but was quickly spotted by residents of some nearby houses, who raised the alarm. Some residents had to move their cars as a precautionary measure.
Gardaí attended the scene and believe a cigarette tossed into a ditch was to blame for the blaze.
‘The fire wasn’t burning for very long but it came close to one of the top houses,’ said a fire services spokesperson. ‘Fortunately people living in the area spotted it quickly and reported it. It appears to have been caused by a discarded cigarette, which can be extremely dangerous given just how dry the conditions are. It doesn’t take much for a fire to take hold and start to spread’.
The following day, Thursday, units from Wicklow and Rathdrum Fire Services spent over five hours fighting a woodland fire at Ballinastoe, which continued into the night.
According to the spokesperson: ‘It was a particularly awkward fire. The ground was very hilly and rocky and the location of the fire was difficult to reach. We managed to contain the blaze and monitored it overnight. Thankfully there was some rainfall, which helped’.