Fire service hailed for protecting life and property during huge Limavady blaze

He was speaking in the Stormont Assembly after the huge inferno at derelict two-storey commercial premises on Catherine Street last Thursday evening.

"It was the largest fire in living memory in the town, and it was in an area of Limavady that I know very well. My office, which I share with an outgoing Member of Parliament, and which has served the people of the Roe valley for 20 years, sits on the same street on which the fire raged.

"I grew up just around the corner from that street, so it saddens me to see the damage that has been caused to that corner of our town centre.

“When I arrived on Thursday evening and saw the centre of Limavady ablaze, with black smoke billowing across the stunning Roe valley, it brought back memories of terrorist campaigns, the hallmark of which were town-centre explosions, of the 1970s and 1980s. Had it not been for the quick action of the fire service, several very popular businesses would be blackened shells today,” Mr. Robinson told MLAs.

Fire appliances from the Northland Road, Crescent Link, Strabane, Limavady, Dungiven and Coleraine Fire Stations all attended the incident and managed to bring it under control.

"Although buildings can be replaced, people cannot. Therefore, I offer my personal thanks to the emergency services, particularly the dozens of firefighters who fought into the early hours to prevent that blaze spreading.

“The fact that lays bare the danger of that fire is that, 60 feet from the blaze, there is a fuel station. Had that been impacted on, we would have been looking at an entirely different outcome.

“I hope that the damage can be speedily repaired, but the town that I was born and bred in is open for business. Please come to Limavady and support our traders in their hour of need. You will not receive a better welcome than in the home of the 'Londonderry Air',” said Mr. Robinson.

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