Manhunt underway after suspected petrol bomb thrown at Cork home

Kenneth Fox

A manhunt is underway for people suspected of petrol bombing a family home in Cork.

As the Irish Examiner reports, a mother and her two sons, one of whom is just 13, fled the housefire caused by a suspected arson attack on the family home in the Silver Birch estate in Rochestown on the city’s southside in the early hours of Monday morning.

The older son, aged 24, jumped from the first-floor window to escape the fire.

He remained in the hospital on Tuesday, recovering from his injuries.

The young man suffered a broken ankle and leg injuries in the fall from the first-floor window, it is understood.

The family cannot immediately return to their home, which has been badly damaged by both fire and smoke.

They remain in "complete shock" following the trauma of that night, sources say.

Gardaí have conducted house-to-house inquiries, and they continue to harvest CCTV footage from the area.

Superintendent Gary McPolin said it was lucky that everyone escaped the fire that night.

“Fortunately, no one was killed, but look at Edenderry,” Supt McPolin said.

Four-year-old Tadgh Farrell and his great-aunt Mary Holt, 60, were both killed in an arson attack in a home in Edenderry in December.

"We are lucky that we did not have a very tragic situation [in Rochestown]. But a young man has been injured, and we will endeavor to bring the perpetrators to justice."

Gardaí continue to appeal for witnesses to the “extremely heinous crime”, he said.

The fire started outside the house at the front door. It appears an accelerant was used.