Probe to begin into cause of Creggan fire

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd June 2018

The emergency services are at the scene of a "major fire" in Londonderry.

The fire broke out at the former Brickkiln factory on the Heather Road on Saturday at around 5pm.

Multiple fire appliances and the police are at the scene.

Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye. — Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd June 2018 The emergency services are at the scene of a "major fire" in Londonderry. The fire broke out at the former Brickkiln factory on the Heather Road on Saturday at around 5pm. Multiple fire appliances and the police are at the scene. Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye.

Dozens of fire-fighters have been involved in tackling the blaze at Brickklin’s Waste Management facility on Heather Road since the alarm was raised shortly before 6:00pm on Saturday last.

On arrival fire crews were confronted with a well developed fire involving a shed containing large volumes of mixed waste materials.

At its peak, 58 fire-fighters using six pumping appliances and five specialist appliances including an aerial appliance, water tanker, command support vehicle and two High Volume Pumps were deployed.

Fire & Rescue Western Area Commander, Jonathan Tate, said that 18 fire-fighters from Northland Road, Crescent Link, Omagh and Belfast stations were still dealing with the blaze yesterday.

Mr Tate confirmed that the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined and that the investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished, probably by today (Tuesday).

He added that the safety of fire-crews working in heavy equipment in sweltering weather conditions was at the forefront of his mind.

Over the weekend, Creggan Sinn Féin Councillor Kevin Campbell urged motorists to avoid rural roads at the back of Creggan as a result of traffic delays resulting from a large number of people gathering close to the scene.

Residents had also been advised to keep windows and doors closed for a time.