Thirteen businesses have closed following a fire in Longford town yesterday.
Emergency services and gardaí were alerted to the fire at Grafton Court at around 1.30am.
Gardaí said that no injuries were reported in the blaze and that residents in nearby apartments were evacuated at the time of the fire.
The scene was preserved for forensic and technical examinations.
Engineers from Longford County Council are conducting damage assessments on the site.
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise Dara Calleary is due to meet with affected business owners and members of Longford County Council this week following the blaze.
"Longford County Council has arranged for a structural assessment to be carried out on the building in the coming days.
"Street closures and access restrictions have been put in place and will continue until the area has been deemed safe," a spokesperson for Longford County Council said.
There are concerns locally about the future of the businesses housed in the building.
Local Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty said road closures are having a knock-on effect on other businesses in the town.
"It's critical that this road in Longford town is not closed for too long," Mr Flaherty said.
"The building has three floors in total, and the roof was badly damaged. We hope the building can be fully restored," he added.
Mr Flaherty said firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze, but smoke could still be seen throughout the day yesterday.
"There are 13 businesses impacted with at least 60 employees facing an uncertain future. It was a really devastating fire, and we did not see the full scale of the damage until yesterday once the fire was fully out," Mr Flaherty said.
Mr Flaherty said that for the National Learning Network in particular, which runs a lot of its operations from the building, this was a significant setback for its dozens of service users.
He said that alternative arrangements will be made for the organisation as soon as possible.
In a statement, The National Learning Network said: "Teams and management from NLN are waiting to assess the extent of the damage as soon as they are permitted.
"Our primary concern now is supporting our students and employees. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
"We appreciate the support and understanding of the community during this time."
Anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Longford Garda Station on 043 335 0570, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
