Foul play ruled out in death of man (62) in Cork flat fire

Gardaí have ruled out foul play after receiving the results of a postmortem examination into the death of a 62-year-old man whose body was found with burn injuries at his flat in Cork city.

Michael O’Sullivan was found with serious burn injuries when the emergency services were alerted to a fire at his upstairs apartment at a three-storey flat complex on Togher Road on Friday night.

Four units of Cork City Fire Brigade responded to the fire and officers had to use breathing apparatus to enter the smoke-filled flat to try to rescue Mr O’Sullivan who lived alone in the apartment.

Mr O’Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed from the scene to the morgue at Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination on Sunday morning.

Gardaí said immediately after the discovery of Mr O’Sullivan’s body in the kitchen area that they were treating his death as suspicious pending the outcome of a postmortem examination.

Garda Press issued a statement saying that the course of the Garda investigation into the death of the man would be determined by the findings by a State pathologist at the postmortem examination.

But now Dr Yvonne McCartney has confirmed to gardaí following her examination that Mr O’Sullivan did not suffer any other injuries other than the burn injuries and smoke inhalation in the fire.

They are satisfied there was nothing sinister or suspicious about Mr O’Sullivan’s death and believe that the fire started accidentally some time before 7pm.

Gardaí had to obtain DNA samples from relatives to formally confirm Mr O’Sullivan’s identity, so extensive were the burn injuries that he suffered in the fire.

Gardaí sealed off the flat and Garda technical experts carried out an examination of the scene and it is hoped their examination will help gardaí establish the cause of the fatal fire.

A Garda spokesman said gardaí will now prepare a file on Mr O’Sullivan’s death which will go before coroner Philip Comyn for an inquest at Cork City Coroner’s Court.

The file will include the results of both the postmortem and forensic examinations as well as a statement from a woman who was in the flat at the time and managed to escape.

It’s understood the woman, who was visiting Mr O’Sullivan at the time, was rescued by a woman living nearby who braved thick smoke to get her from the burning flat.