Turnpike pub blaze not malicious, say gardaí

GARDAÍ believe there was nothing malicious about a fire that gutted Aylmer’s Rest pub on St Stephen’s Day.

It is thought that the fire began from a stove that was burning overnight.
There were four people staying at the premises at the time of the fire, proprietors Frank and Carmel Daniels, their daughter and baby grandson. They were rehoused this week.
The pub has been run by the family since the late-1990s, and was popular with many living in the Turnpike area.
The fire service arrived at the scene at around 8.30am, with three units from the Ennis station and one from Shannon being involved in tackling the blaze.
Firemen believed the situation was under control when they left at around 12.40pm.
The scene had been surveyed with thermal sensitive cameras and it was believed that there wasn’t a further risk.
However, just over 30 minutes later another call was received and the fire service had to return to the scene, this time with nine appliances, as the blaze had reignited in the meantime.
They continued to battle the fire until shortly after 9pm that evening.
Francis Daniels, a son of the proprietors, said it had been a terrible surprise. “Of course it was a total shock and it was awful at this time of year but thankfully no one was hurt.”
There was little that could be done as the premises burned. “I got the call and I was up there around nine but there wasn’t much we could do.”
Mr Daniels said the family intends to rebuild in the New Year.