Lynch family 'forever grateful' to Westmeath Fire Service

The Mullingar family whose business premises was "substantially destroyed" in a fire in the early hours of today has said that they are "forever grateful" to the Westmeath Fire Service members who prevented the blaze from spreading to their residence.

The Westmeath Fire service was alerted to a blaze at Chris Lynch Plant and Tool Hire in Walshestown South, Mullingar at around 3.15am.

Units from Mullingar and Castlepollard attended the scene and managed to contain the blaze before it spread to the Lynch family's nearby residence and vehicles. No one was injured in the blaze.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, a spokesperson for Westmeath Fire Service said that officers worked hard in the early hours of this morning to ensure that the fire did not spread.

“The main building that housed the business is substantially destroyed...Thankfully the Lynch family's home was saved. Credit where credit is due the fire officers battled to contain the fire and brought it under control successfully. I won't say that it is a good news story but it could have been a lot worse,” the spokesperson said.

In a post on social media this afternoon, Chris Lynch Plant and Tool Hire said that due to the fire they will be working at "reduced capacity" and that phone lines will be back working tomorrow.

They also said that they "will be back working very soon" and praised the Westmeath Fire Service for their efforts.

"Thanks to Westmeath Fire service for all their hard work last night they worked so hard to keep the fire under control. We are forever grateful."