The elderly man who died in a house fire in Co. Westmeath yesterday (Wednesday, June 4) is understood to have come from a farming background.

The man in his 80s was pronounced dead at the scene of the rural house fire in the townland of Gilbertstown, near Castlepollard.

The alarm was raised by neighbours around 1:00a.m yesterday and emergency services rushed to the scene.

Two units of Westmeath Fire & Rescue Service were mobilised to the incident - one unit from Castlepollard and one unit from Old Castle Co. Meath.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: "On arrival, the fire service were presented with one 89-year-old male casualty at the scene but despite the best efforts of the responders they were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced at the scene.

"The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes of arrival and the fire service left the scene in the hands of An Garda Siochána at 03:00hrs, pending a technical investigation.

"The Fire Authority wish to extend their sympathies to the family of the deceased."

Gardaí confirmed to Agriland that the man's body was removed to the mortuary at Mullingar Mortuary for a post mortem examination .

An Garda Siochána added that "foul play is not suspected at this time" and an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

It is the third fatality as a result of a house fire in recent days as two others died in a house fire in Co, Galway.

Gardaí are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death of two individuals following the fatal house fire in Casla, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

At approximately 6:20a.m on Tuesday, gardaí and fire services were alerted to a house fire at Gleann Mhic Mhuireann.

According to gardaí, the fire was brought under control by fire services and the bodies of a woman aged in her 70s and a man in his 30s were recovered from inside the house.

Both bodies were transported to the mortuary at University Hospital Galway for post-mortem examinations.