Franco's Restaurant fire: woman in sixties rescued from upstairs flat

Elderly woman became trapped after restaurant on Queen Elizabeth Road in Enniskillen went on fire.

A pensioner in her sixties had to be rescued after she became trapped in an upstairs dwelling because of a fire coming from below.

A fire at the well-known Italian restaurant, Franco's in Enniskillen broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning. 

Police say one of their crews responded to the property on Queen Elizabeth Road after hearing reports of a fire alarm sounding in the area.

"Upon arrival, we noticed that there was smoke coming from the building," a statement read on the PSNI Fermanagh's Facebook page.

"We contacted the Fire Service who were quickly on the scene and rescued an elderly woman who was trapped in an upstairs flat. The woman along with two police officers had to be treated at the scene by members of the Ambulance Service for smoke inhalation. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the incident," the statement added.

Local officers also thanked their colleagues in the Fire and Ambulance services for their assistance.

The Sweeney Family, who own the restaurant, also placed on record their thanks to the Emergency Services for their help in quelling the blaze.

In a statement on the eatery's website, the family said they "deeply appreciated" everything that had been done for them.

"We would like to thank the Fire crews from Enniskillen, Irvinestown and Clogher as well as the PSNI who all worked hard through the night to save Francos," it read.

Confirming the extent of Sunday morning's fire, the owners of this well-liked local restaurant also apologised to any customers who may be inconvenienced by repair works.

"Thankfully no one was injured but despite the very best efforts of the Fire Service there is significant damage."

"Unfortunately we will have to close the restaurant for a short period while we carry out repairs and we apologise to our customers in advance of this. We anticipate this will take approximately 3 weeks," they added.