Customers evacuated at Julianstown Inn blaze

THERE were dramatic scenes in Julianstown on Sunday when a fire broke out at the historic Julianstown Inn in the centre of the village.

Customers of the pub had to be evacuated at around 3pm on Sunday when the pub's thatched roof caught fire but nobody was injured in the incident.

Three fire units, two from Drogheda and one from Balbriggan, attended the scene and the fire was quickly brought under control.

Fires in thatched roofs can be extremely difficult to fight but a JCB was used to remove the part of the roof which was burning and stop the blaze spreading, while firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze when the thatch was on the ground. Most of the thatch remained intact and there was little water damage to the building, which is expected to reopen later this week or next week.

Investigators believed the fire was started accidentally. The Old Mill Hotel, which was just across the road from The Julianstown Inn, was destroyed by fire last October. Meanwhile, customers and staff at the Aura Leisure Link swimming pool in Navan were evacuated on Friday morning when fire broke out in the sauna area.

Nobody was injured in the incident. The fire broke out at around 7.30am on Friday morning and customers and staff were alerted by a fire alarm. The fire brigade managed to contain the fire to the sauna and the pool and gym reopened on Friday evening.