Residents warned of asbestos in smoke flume during suspected arson attack

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attended the incident at the old Faughan Valley High School overnight and brought the fire under control in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The blaze was reported to police at 9.05pm on Monday. NIFRS attended the scene on Drumahoe Road and extinguished the blaze.

Inspector McDonald said: "Damage has been caused to the premises. NIFRS have said the cause of the fire is believed to have been deliberate ignition and, so, we are treating this as a suspected arson.

"As enquiries into the circumstances of the fire continue, anyone with information, including dashcam or other video footage, is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference 1780 of 30/10/23."

Earlier the emergency services had warned of the potential presence of asbestos in smoke from the fire.

“The Fire Service have advised that there is asbestos present in the old school so local residents are advised to keep their windows shut for the next number of hours until the smoke plume has dissipated.

“The matter is being investigated as a suspected arson. Anyone who has any information or who observed any suspicious activity around 9pm on the 30/10/2023 please get in touch with Police quoting incident 1780 of the 30/10/2023,” the PSNI said.

You can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111 or at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/