Vacant house blaze extinguished weeks after resident voiced concerns

DUBLIN Fire Brigade extinguished a fire in a vacant building in Tallaght, just weeks after a resident voiced their concerns about the property.

On Good Friday, firefighters were called to the scene in Rossfield after calls were made about smoke “issuing from the building”.

Two fire engines rushed to the scene and dealt with the fire.

Located at the edge of Rossfield estate, the houses once served as a shop but has been vacant for around two decades.

The building in question is next to where 12-year-old Stephen Hughes died in a fire after the den he had been sleeping in overnight was set alight in 2001.

In February, a resident who asked to remain anonymous, contacted The Echo in frustration with the sight of the vacant houses amid the housing crisis.

“With what’s going on, I think the council should be doing something to get people into the houses, instead of them staying vacant,” the resident said.

“There’s people with gangs of children and they need houses. I’d like to see them being done up, with people living in them.

“It’s horrible to look at them being vacant.”

When contacted by The Echo to ascertain if the vacant properties are council stock, a spokesperson for South Dublin County Council said works are at “various stages of the relet process”.

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