Family home gutted by fire

A Rochfortbridge man was lucky to escape with his life, when he awoke in the early hours of Monday morning to find his house was on fire.Pat Gavin, a well-known local auctioneer, tried unsuccessfully to battle his way through the smoke, before finally making his escape through a ground floor window.The house, a three story listed building, known locally as 'West House', was gutted in the blaze, which is believed to have started around 4 a.m.Fortunately, the smoke woke Mr. Gavin whotried initially to leave through the front door. The smoke was so dense, however, that he could not make it that far, and so his only choice was to climb out a window.Mr. Gavin was in his house alone at the time, as his wife, a nurse, was on night duty.Speaking later on Monday, Mr. Gavin, who has lived in the house all his life, said his neighbours have been very supportive:'All the neighbours were a great help. The fire brigade got here as fast as they could but it was gone up in minutes.'It is not known yet how the fire started but it is believed that the blaze broke out in the top left room of the house.A Garda forensic team are examined to have visited the scene, as is normal in such cases.