Duleek man leaps for life from blazing apartment

A young man is in a stable condition at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda after jumping 25 feet from a burning third-floor apartment in Duleek yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Nearby apartments had to be evacuated at the height of the blaze. The interior of the apartment and the roof above it at The Commons estate on the road leading from the village towards Drogheda were both badly damaged by the blaze and adjoining apartments were damaged by smoke and water. Units of Navan and Drogheda fire service were called to the scene at 5.10am yesterday and quenched the blaze. Fire personnel remained at the scene until 11am to help dampen the remains of the outbreak. Local sources said that an off-duty garda had kicked in the door of the apartment in an effort to get the occupants out. The apartment was well ablaze when the firefighters arrived on the scene and they used a hydraulic platform in an effort to cope with the situation and get water on the flames. A spokesperson for the Health Service Executive (HSE) said that the man who had jumped from the third floor apartment to escape the flames was in a stable condition at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.