Four houses have been damaged, two of them extensively, by a fire which broke out in a housing estate in Co Meath in the early hours of this morning.
Nobody was injured in the blaze in Meadowbank Hill in Ratoath, which started at around 4am.
Gardaí are still trying to establish the cause of the fire, but say they have no reason to believe it was suspicious.
It is believed the fire started in a van in one driveway before spreading to the house behind it, and the house beside it, causing substantial damage to both properties.
Scene of fire Meadowbank Hill Rathoath pic.twitter.com/UM3wjlfuu6
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Two adjoining houses also suffered from smoke damage.
The occupants of the four houses were safely evacuated and nobody was injured.
Neighbours say they were taken aback at how quickly the fire spread.
Sandra Devanny who lives next door to the damaged houses fought back tears as she described seeing flames and sparks coming from the roof of the house next door.
She said the most important thing was that the families inside had escaped safely but that neighbours were devastated about the damage that had been caused to their homes.
Another neighbour, Paul Glackin, described how his wife heard a bang at around 4am and that when they looked outside they saw flames.
Four houses have been damaged - two of them extensively - by a fire which broke out in the early hours of this morning in Ratoath, Co Meath | https://t.co/OtHtRJpJPF pic.twitter.com/557JN35i5r
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He described how he and other neighbours then went to adjoining houses to raise the alarm.
He said people were devastated for the two families whose homes were gutted in the blaze.
"We are devastated for them, it's so close to Christmas"
A technical examination of the scene was carried out this morning.
Gardaí say there's no reason to believe that the fire was started deliberately.
It is still not clear what caused the van to ignite but it is thought that the fact that domestic oil tanks were located beside the burning van may have been a factor in how the fire spread.
