Christmas Eve fire death man '˜the soul of our street'

Police confirmed that the man died following a fire at a house in Braeside Park on Monday.

The man has been named locally as Ben Donnelly.

A PSNI spokespersons said: “Police received a report of the fire at around 11am. Emergency services attended the incident but unfortunately the man was found deceased at the scene.

“An investigation into the cause of the fire, which is not believed to be suspicious, has now commenced.”

Tributes have been paid on social media in which Mr Donnelly was described as “a true gentleman” and “the soul of our street”.

Some of the Facebook messages included posts such as “So sorry to hear this sad news. He was a true down to earth gentleman” and “So sorry to be hear such sad news about the loss of Ben. He was a true gentleman and belonged to the generation of old school. Sincere condolences to all the Donnelly family”.

Another read: “So sad. Ben was the best neighbour” and another posting added: “A true gentleman who made our street, every single one of us whilst growing up had something at one time or another fixed by Ben, just so incredibly sad that the soul of our street has gone.”

It is believed that Mr Donnelly was the father of two daughters.

Area Commander for Western Area Command of Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), Jonathan Tate, told the News Letter: “The NIFRS were tasked to a house fire at 11am on Christmas Eve.

“Two appliances from Enniskillen and one from Irvinestown attended the scene.

“On arrival at the house, firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced entry into the house and, while firefighting and searching the house, they found a man in the living room. The fire was accidental but an investigation has been launched to identify the cause.”

Area Commander Tate added; “During the Christmas holiday season, we would like to remind the public to ensure they have a working fire alarm on every floor of the house; to be aware of obvious dangers at this time of year like candles, wrapping paper and Christmas decorations and to plan an escape route and make everyone aware of it.”