Gardaí are investigating the cause of an early morning fire at a recently renovated property that was also for sale.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at the bungalow near Ballymaley on the old N18 Galway road a short distance from Ennis in Co Clare.
Four units of the fire brigade from Ennis along with several garda units responded to a number of emergency calls at around 7.45am yesterday.
Fire crews arrived at the scene to find the house ‘well alight’ however the property was vacant at the time.
ESB engineers were also requested to attend the incident to cut the power to the house so that firefighters could work safely inside.
Fire crews brought the fire under control before personnel wearing breathing apparatus were able to enter the house to check there was no one inside.
Firefighters found that the fire had burned through the floor boards and into the attic and causing extensive damage to the inside of the property.
Gardaí sealed off the property until a technical examination could be completed.
It’s known that the house was on the market for sale and that renovation work had only recently been carried out there.
A garda spokeswoman confirmed: “Gardaí are investigating this incident and we haven’t ruled out foul play. The scene has also been technically examined.”
“We would ask anyone who was in the area of Ballymaley between 6pm on Tuesday and 8am on Wednesday when the fire was discovered, to contact us if they saw anything and or anyone suspicious in the area of this house,” she added.
Ennis garda station can be contacted on 065 68 48100.