One woman suffered minor injuries in blaze which fire fighters have brought under control on O’Brien Road in Carlow

UPDATE 6pm: The massive fire at a factory in Carlow has been mostly brought under control.

About 40 firefighters battled the blaze at the Oglesby and Butler plant on the O’Brien Road, and a presence is expected at the scene until at least 7pm, though the stretch reopened to traffic earlier.

One woman’s understood to have suffered minor injuries in the blaze which emergency services were alerted to at about 2pm.

KCLR News’ reporter John Moynihan had this overview for 6pm:

UPDATE 510pm: Carlow’s Acting Fire Chief Liam Carroll on KCLR’s The Way It Is says one woman was treated at the scene for injuries that were non-life-threatening and taken to hospital as a precaution.  He expects his team to be on the scene until at least 7pm this (Thursday) evening and advises people to continue to keep doors and windows closed if you see smoke.

Hear what he had to say to our Brian Redmond in full here:

Here’s what the earlier smoke was like:

The smoke seen at the scene of the fire in #Carlow today. CREDIT: S McGarr pic.twitter.com/zz8uxwylPc

— KCLR 96FM (@kclr96fm) June 16, 2022

Our reporter John Moynihan was at the scene for our 5pm News bulletin:

UPDATE 4:10pm The N80 O’Brien Road has reopened in Carlow town.

UPDATE 3:50pm KCLR reporter Amy McLoughlin is at the scene and will be updating The Way It Is after 4pm.

Our John Moynihan is also there and spoke with somebody working nearby:

UPDATE 3:30pm It’s understood the worst of the fire has been extinguished but pockets are still burning throughout the building.

Fire crews expect to remain on site for the next few hours.

UPDATE 3:10pm: Eyewitnesses have been telling KCLR News of seeing ‘black smoke’ and hearing ‘a big bang’. One lady says ‘it’s terrible’.

Dramatic scenes on the O’Brien Road in #Carlow town. Stay tuned for updates on air … pic.twitter.com/JxkHqiKcy3

— KCLR 96FM (@kclr96fm) June 16, 2022

UPDATE 2:40pm: Gardaí in Carlow say the N80 O’Brien Road is fully closed now to allow fire services to battle the blaze.

Diversion is via the Hacketstown Road, Eastern Relief Road and Dublin Road.

UPDATE 2:30pm: Carlow County Council are reiterating the appeal for residents of the O’Brien Road area to keep their windows closed after a ‘significant fire at the Oglesby and Butler premises’ which manufactures and sells gas-powered hand tools.

The local authority also says that there may be water pressure issues in the town as water services diverts more water to this area for fire fighting.

Traffic delays are beginning to develop in the area and diversions are being put in place to alleviate delays.

Our Domhnall Doyle’s been hearing from Eamonn Brophy, Senior Executive Officer with Corporate Affairs, Carlow County Council:

UPDATE 2:20pm:

BREAKING: Major fire in Carlow town. Updates to come. pic.twitter.com/g8TqHFT9yj

— KCLR 96FM (@kclr96fm) June 16, 2022

Original Story:

Six units of Carlow fire brigade are making their way to the scene of an industrial fire on the O’Brien Road.

The blaze broke out at a premises at about 2 o’clock this afternoon.

It’s not yet known if anybody’s been injured but KCLR News understands staff were evacuated and are safe.

A spokesperson for the local emergency services is asking people in the area to keep their windows closed.

While motorists too are asked to stay away with the O’Brien Road set to be closed for the next couple of hours as crews attempt to bring it under control.

Stay tuned for updates.