Four people — a man, a woman and two children — are dead and two more children are fighting for their lives in hospital after a suspected arson attack on a house in Waterford City, Ireland, early Tuesday.
Emergency services were alerted to the fire at Birchwood Avenue at 5:13 a.m., arriving to find a well-developed blaze in the two-storey house. Fire crews extinguished the fire and handed the scene to An Garda Síochána, the Irish police.
In a statement, a Garda spokesperson said: “An Garda Síochána have commenced a murder investigation into the arson attack and fatal house fire that occurred in the Birchwood area of Waterford City shortly after 5am this morning, Tuesday, 13th October 2026.”
Gardaí confirmed that the two adults and two of their children died. Two other children were taken from the scene with critical injuries and are receiving hospital treatment.
Investigation under way
An incident room has been set up at Waterford Garda Station under a senior investigating officer, with family liaison officers assigned to support the family. RTÉ crime correspondent Paul Reynolds reported that gardaí have opened a criminal investigation with arson as the primary line of inquiry.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the incident as “deeply disturbing,” offering his thoughts and prayers to those who died and urging the public to give first responders space to work. Gardaí appealed for anyone with information to contact the investigation team.
No arrests have been reported, and the circumstances remain under investigation. This is a developing story.
Sources: RTÉ via Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio; The Sun (Ireland); PA.
