Fire crews tackle fire at retail park in Belfast

It has been reported that three stores were badly damaged in a fire at Boucher Retail Park in Belfast last Tuesday morning.

Fire crews were called to the stores in question – Birthdays, JD Sports and Poundstretcher – at around 4am, where it took them a few hours to get the blaze under control.

In total, 17 appliances and 85 firefighters were at the scene, although they were unable to prevent damage to these three retail outlets as well as smoke and water from affecting nine other stores.

Police are now working with a fire service investigation team to determine the cause of the blaze and establish if it was the result of an arson attack.

Assistant Chief Officer Eoin Doyle explained: “The fire appears to have started at Poundstretcher. It also spread to the adjacent properties on either side.”

The situation was said to have been made worse due to the collapse of the Poundstretcher building which meant that safety was of paramount importance.

The work of firefighters was later praised by Public Safety Minister Michael McGimpsey when he said:

“I commend them for the fearless way that, over many hours, they have tackled the fire, contained it and prevented further damage.

“These 85 firefighters have put their lives on the line to fight this blaze and have done a magnificent job. Thankfully at this stage there have been no reported injuries.”