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21st Jun 2018

House viciously set on fire shortly after homeless family move in

Melissa Carton

The incident happened late last night.

Gardai are currently investigating a house fire that started at around 1:30am last night in Ballyfermot.

It is believed the home, which was only recently given to a homeless family, may have been purposely set alight in a vicious attack.

A young family had only recently moved into the house after spending two years homeless and living between hotels.

Luckily none of the family was at home at the time that the fire broke out.

The fire is believed to have started at the front door and neighbours were alerted to the blaze when two young girls started screaming.

One resident told the Irish Independent

“We heard two young girls screaming fire and we went outside. The guards and the fire brigade were at the scene within minutes.”

“It’s awful as they’ve only been living there a few weeks. It’s a quiet road so it’s shocking to think that someone might have done this on purpose.”

A spokesperson for the Peter McVerry trust said that the fire seems to have been set deliberately.

Gardai are still currently investigating and the residents have been rehoused by the Peter McVerry trust.

They will not be moving back into the home and it will be let out to a new family once repairs have been completed.