Fire fighter pictured at the scene of the fire at John Street in Kilkenny. Pic: Dylan Vaughan"It's fortunate there was no loss of life and we'd like to pay tribute to the good work of the garda."
A member of Gardai has been praised after rescuing two homeless people from a burning historic building, which was destroyed in Kilkenny city this morning.
The blaze started at about 9.30am at the disused Bridge House in John Street in Kilkenny.
Gardaí believe the fire was started intentionally and have subsequently arrested and two people for questioning.
The alarm was raised when a passer-by noticed smoke coming from the empty section of the building and immediately alerted the emergency services.
A garda who arrived at the scene then entered the building and found a man and a woman asleep inside and quickly got them out to safety.
Several units of the Kilkenny Fire Service attended the blaze, however the building was completely destroyed.
"It's fortunate there was no loss of life and we'd like to pay tribute to the good work of the garda," Chief Superintendent Dominic Hayes said.
