By Sean Moriarty

Photos: Michelle Crean

Three units of Killarney Fire and Rescue attended a lunchtime fire in the town centre today (Wednesday).

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Smoke and flames were seen billowing from the rear of a building off Glebe Lane after fire broke out just after 1.30pm.

Concerned onlookers started banging on doors of houses on the lane to make sure there was no one inside the buildings.

The fire service and Gardai were on the scene within minutes.

Three units, including the water tender, were placed in the Glebe car park while a second fire truck was positioned at Market Cross to gain access to the fire through the front of business premises on the main street.

While the cause of the fire is not yet known, Killarney Fire and Rescue said it had the potential to be worse.

“It is an old building, it had [the fire] potential if it went inside the building. It looks like the windowsills caught fire, the building is pepper-dry so if it went inside it could have been a lot worse,” a spokesperson told the Killarney Advertiser.

The situation was quickly brought under control and the town centre returned to normal within 45 minutes.