Four rescued from Dungannon house fire

Four people have been rescued from a house fire in Dungannon, in County Tyrone, by police officers.

Several of the PSNI officers have been treated for smoke inhalation.

The Northern Ireland Fire Service (NIFRS) were called to the incident in Cunninghams Lane at about 20:30 GMT on Monday.

As fire crews arrived the people had been led to safety from the property by police.

Crews, wearing breathing apparatus and using firefighting jets, extinguished a fire at the property and gave the people first aid.

They were then left in the care of Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).

Two fire appliances from Dungannon and one from Pomeroy attended were sent.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Cunninghams Lane had been closed but has now reopened.

Lyndsey Telford, BBC News NI, in Dungannon

The flames had been extinguished by the time we arrived at the scene, but the smell of smoke hangs in the air.

The paintwork on the front of this semi-detached property is scorched black in parts – the signs of extensive fire damage are evident.

Only remnants of a front door remained at the entrance of the house, with shards of glass on the floor inside.

A ladder was perched against the property, leading to an upstairs bedroom window which remained wide open, with curtains still hanging from the frame.

Two fire officers were at the scene where they appeared to survey the damage with torches.

A cordon was in place while officers in an unmarked police car kept watch.

DUP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Deborah Erskine, said it was a “disturbing incident”.

SDLP Councillor Malachy Quinn added that there were “concerning news and images coming from Dungannon”.