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05/06/2006
Investigation into Newcastle fire
An investigation is underway to establish the cause of a fire at a storage building at the rear of a shop, attached to a filling station in County Down.
A number of fire appliances and over 50 fire-fighters were called in to tackle the blaze at the Barbican Centre in the Dundrum Road area of Newcastle, which is thought to have started at around 12pm on Sunday.
It is understood that it took around two hours for crews to extinguish the fire.
No one was hurt during the incident, however local residents were instructed to keep all doors and window closed after the presence of asbestos was identified in the burning building.
Station Commander Neil McGrath said that the asbestos hazard made conditions more difficult for fire crews.
He said: "As we were extinguishing the fire before it could spread into the shopping premises we identified the presence of asbestos tiles covering the premises.
"They were a risk to the crew involved. It was the asbestos which was the major problem and the people who were first on the scene needed to be decontaminated."
However, Mr McGrath added that there was never any risk of the flames reaching the petrol tankers.
It is not yet known how the fire started and an investigation is being carried out.
Meanwhile, two women have been rescued after a fire broke out in the kitchen of their home in north Belfast in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It is understood that a neighbour heard the smoke alarm and helped the two women to escape from the burning property in Roselee Street, off the Oldpark Road.
No one was injured during the incident, however the house sustained smoke and heat damage.
In a separate incident, police are treating as arson a blaze at a house in County Down.
No one was at home in the property on the Burren Road, Warrenpoint when the blaze started in the early hours of Sunday.
The first floor of the house was destroyed and the ground floor sustained smoke and water damage.
The motive for the attack is still being investigated.
(EF/SP)
A number of fire appliances and over 50 fire-fighters were called in to tackle the blaze at the Barbican Centre in the Dundrum Road area of Newcastle, which is thought to have started at around 12pm on Sunday.
It is understood that it took around two hours for crews to extinguish the fire.
No one was hurt during the incident, however local residents were instructed to keep all doors and window closed after the presence of asbestos was identified in the burning building.
Station Commander Neil McGrath said that the asbestos hazard made conditions more difficult for fire crews.
He said: "As we were extinguishing the fire before it could spread into the shopping premises we identified the presence of asbestos tiles covering the premises.
"They were a risk to the crew involved. It was the asbestos which was the major problem and the people who were first on the scene needed to be decontaminated."
However, Mr McGrath added that there was never any risk of the flames reaching the petrol tankers.
It is not yet known how the fire started and an investigation is being carried out.
Meanwhile, two women have been rescued after a fire broke out in the kitchen of their home in north Belfast in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It is understood that a neighbour heard the smoke alarm and helped the two women to escape from the burning property in Roselee Street, off the Oldpark Road.
No one was injured during the incident, however the house sustained smoke and heat damage.
In a separate incident, police are treating as arson a blaze at a house in County Down.
No one was at home in the property on the Burren Road, Warrenpoint when the blaze started in the early hours of Sunday.
The first floor of the house was destroyed and the ground floor sustained smoke and water damage.
The motive for the attack is still being investigated.
(EF/SP)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A largely cloudy day with occasional rain. Turning drier and brighter for a time in the afternoon and feeling very mild. Light southerly winds becoming strong with gales later along the County Down coast. Maximum temperature 13 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with outbreaks of rain, these heavy at times. Strong southerly winds, with gales in the evening across eastern counties, becoming westerly later. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
