Elderly man helped to safety from west Belfast house fire

The fire service said the semi-detached house at Lenadoon Avenue was "well alight" when firefighters arrived

A man in his 80s had to be helped to safety after an "extensive" house fire in west Belfast.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said that neighbours led the man away from outside the house on Lenadoon Avenue before firefighters arrived.

The fire service said the semi-detached was "well alight" when crews arrived.

It said an investigation is under way but that it believed the fire was accidental.

Alan O'Neill, group commander with the fire service, said the man "was left in the care of the ambulance service".

'Well-developed fire'

"We're just thankful that he's safely out of the property," he said.

"Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of damage to his property, so hopefully he'll get that dealt with quite quickly."

He said crews found a "well-developed fire" when they arrived on Lenadoon Avenue.

"On arrival, they were aware that there was nobody else in the property so they were able to deal with the fire quite quickly.

"However, it was quite an extensive fire that started in the kitchen."