Ballymena: Man dies following house fire in Co Antrim
A man has died following a house fire in Co Antrim.
Emergency services were called to the fire in Waring Street, Ballymena on Boxing Day morning.
Police said officers received a report of the fire shortly before 9.45am but sadly the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the fire are ongoing, however, at this stage the death is not being treated as suspicious,” police said.
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said: “The thoughts and sympathies of Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service are with the loved ones of a man, aged 48, who died following a house fire at Waring Street, Ballymena.
"Firefighters were called to reports of a house fire at 9.30am this morning. Two appliances from Ballymena Fire Station attended the incident.
"The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"Please consider our STOP message: Do you have smoke alarms? Test them weekly. Check the obvious fire dangers in your home. Plan an escape route.”
The man was the fifth person to die as a result of a house fire in Northern Ireland in the past two weeks.