Fatal house fire, Lenadoon Avenue, Belfast
A man in his sixties has died in a house fire in west Belfast.
Police were alerted to the blaze at Lenadoon Avenue at around 3.08am on Friday 24th September.
Upon arrival, officers from Woodbourne police station were made aware that a male may have been inside the terraced house.
Two officers, a male and a female, entered the house via the front door but were forced out by the smoke. A second male police officer then climbed a rear spouting and smashed a window in an effort to gain entry however he too was beaten back by smoke.
The fire was extinguished by the NIFRS and the body of a man subsequently located by fire service personnel in an upstairs bedroom.
The three police officers, who are all aged in their twenties, were treated in hospital for the effects of breathing in smoke. Two have since been released however one remains in hospital at present.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
