Man killed in explosion at Dublin homeless hostel – The Irish Times

A man has been killed in an explosion at a homeless shelter in Dublin city centre.

The incident occurred at the Depaul Supported Temporary Accommodation centre on Little Britain Street at around 3.30pm on Thursday afternoon. There were no other serious injuries.

Gardaí are preparing to forensically examine the scene once safe to do so. The results of these examinations will dictate the course of the investigation.

It is understood the explosion was contained to one room, occupied by a single person, believed to be a client of the centre.

One line of investigation is the explosion was caused by a gas heater located in the room. However, sources stress the investigation is at an extremely early stage.

In a statement, Depaul confirmed the incident occurred in its facility.

“It was a localised incident confined to one room. All service users will be evacuated from the building tonight and alternative placements will be found,” the statement said.

“Depaul are working with the DRHE [Dublin Region Homeless Executive] and our NGO partners to ensure no person will be left without accommodation this evening.”

In a statement on Thursday evening, the DRHE said: “The DRHE was notified this afternoon of a serious incident at a supported hostel in the city. The incident occurred within the building and was confined to one room. All residents are being evacuated on a temporary basis to allow for a full assessment. Our priority is to safely reaccommodate all residents tonight.”

Emergency services quickly attended the scene at the hostel, which is located just off Capel Street.

It is understood a number of people were inside the premises at the time of the incident.

One woman who was inside the accommodation the time said she initially thought the fire alarm had been set off by someone smoking a cigarette inside.

The next thing she knew she saw people “running out” of the hostel, she said. “People are going in the street because of the danger,” she said.

Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) said firefighters and paramedics from Phibsborough, Tara Street and North Strand stations responded to the emergency call at 3.15pm on Thursday. They said the incident was brought under control by 3.35pm and the scene was handed over to the gardaí at 4.15pm.

Residents have been evacuated and a cordon and local traffic diversions are in place between Green Street and Capel Street.

Many of those who were in the accommodation at the time have been moved into George’s Hill facility run by Focus Ireland nearby, where they are gathering indoors in a church on the grounds.

Staff working in homeless services are currently trying to secure beds in alternative hostels for the occupants of the centre for Thursday night.

A Garda spokesman said: “The precise cause of the explosion is currently under investigation, and the Garda Technical Bureau will examine the scene.”

Several roads around Little Britain Street have been closed off following the suspected explosion, with a large Garda cordon set up around the building.

One man who was staying in the emergency accommodation said he heard a “bang” followed by the fire alarm.

Wayne, who did not wish to give his surname, said he had been staying in the hostel for several weeks.

“People were flying out the door, everyone just legged it,” he said.

“Everyone just thought it was a fire drill because they usually do that once a month,” he said.

When he got outside he said he saw a “cloud of smoke” coming out of the building.

“There could have been an awful lot of people in there killed today,” he said.

“I don’t even know where my girlfriend is, we don’t know what’s going on now,” he said.

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