Man dies in house fire on University of Limerick campus

Gardaí are investigating a fatal house fire at a house on the campus grounds of the University of Limerick.

An elderly man, in his late 80s or early 90s, and understood to have been an academic, was found dead at the scene.

The fire broke out at a house at Kilmurry Village shortly before midnight and the man’s body remains at the scene.

The alarm was raised at 11.41pm and four tender units including a high-rise platform, were dispatched from fire stations in Limerick City and Cappamore.

Firefighters attached to the Limerick City and County Fire Service spent five hours at the scene, putting out the fire and damping down the scene before returning to their bases after 5am.

Gardaí remain at the scene and are investigating all of the circumstances in relation to what caused the fire.

A Garda spokesman said the scene is currently preserved pending a technical examination.

“A postmortem examination will be arranged and the results of this, along with the findings of the technical examination, will determine the course of the Garda investigation,” the spokesman said.

The University of Limerick has been asked for comment.