HEARTBROKEN
FATHER AND SON KILLED IN FATAL FIRE AT APARTMENT
SLIGO has been left numbed and shocked at the tragic deaths of a father and son in a fire at an apartment in Market Street in the early hours of Saturday - the cause of which has still to be determined.
Such was the ferocity of the blaze that a technical examination of the scene has failed to shed any light on how it started with samples from the scene being sent for more detailed forensic examination.
However, Gardaí say there was nothing suspicious about the blaze which broke out in a first floor apartment, directly underneath the one where Christopher ( Sonny) Harte ( 63) and his 34- year- old son, Sean Harte were staying.
They had made it to the front door of their second floor apartment but had succumbed to smoke inhalation despite the administration of CPR soon after they were discovered by Gardaí who also evacuated six other people from the three storey building.
A joint funeral of the two men will take place tomorrow ( Wednesday) at the Cathedral of the Immaculate conception at 1130am.
SAMPLES taken from the scene of last Saturday’s fatal fire at Market Street which claimed the lives of father and son, Christopher ( Sonny) ( 63) and Sean Harte ( 34), have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Dublin in a bid to establish a cause.
The Garda technical examination of the scene concluded on Sunday but a cause of the fire has not yet been established.
This is due to the degree of heat, the amount destruction caused and the extent of smoke damage.
Further tests will now be carried out on the material taken from the scene in a bid to establish a cause.
The fire broke out shortly before 5am on Saturday in a vacant flat on the first floor of the three storey building.
Gardaí say they are not treating the fire as suspicious but that their investigation is continuing.
One possible theory being looked is that the fire may have been smouldering for a number of hours before igniting and quickly engulfing the building very quickly.
“We’re keeping an open mind,” said Inspector Paul Kilcoyne of Sligo Garda Station.
This includes reviewing all CCTV in the area to establish the comings and goings of all occupants in the building and interviews with same.
Passing Gardaí were alerted to the fire by an occupant of the building who had flagged them down.
Gardaí entered the building and bravely went about trying to evacuate the building.
Mr Harte and his son Sean were found close to the door of their second floor apartment.
Gardaí performed CPR on the men before the fire service removed them from the building.
Six other occupants of the building were brought to Sligo University Hospital for treatment for the effects of smoke inhalation and were released after treatment without being admitted.
The deceased come from a very well known and respected family originally from the St Brigid’s Place area of the town.
Post mortem examinations were carried out at the week- end and the deceased have been released to the family with funeral arrangements having been finalised on Monday with reposing at the Harte family home on Tuesday with Mass and burial on Wednesday.
It is understood that both men died due to smoke inhalation. Tributes have been pouring in for the men on social media.
Mr Harte is survived by three children, sons, Michael and Paul, and a daughter, Shelley, who runs a hairdressing salon in the town. People Before Profit Councillor Gino O’Boyle, who went to primary school with Sean Harte said the whole town was in shock.
“The two of them were very well- respected,” Cllr O’Boyle said.