Fire service say industrial estate blaze was accidental | UK News

The Northern Ireland Fire Service (NIFRS) has said they believe a large fire at an industrial estate in Bangor, County Down, was accidental.

At the height of the blaze on Friday evening, eight fire crews were at the scene at Fusco Vehicle Sales in the Balloo Industrial Estate.

NIFRS said that following assessment on Saturday morning, firefighters had left the scene as of 09:20 GMT.

Earlier, NIFRS had said that there had been a structural collapse at the site.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has advised the public to avoid Balloo Way in Bangor.

Residents were advised to keep windows closed due to smoke.

In a post on social media, Fusco Vehicle Sales said: “Everybody is safe and well and we will be in touch with all of our customers following advice and guidance from the fire brigade.

“We really appreciate everybody’s understanding and patience.”

A large plume of smoke hanging in the sky above the industrial estate gave a sense of the fire’s scale.

Firefighters tackled the blaze with water from a height.

Cordons in place around the scene ensured there were few members of the public around.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Stephen Dunne said there was “shock and concern” in the community.

He added that there was also “widespread relief and thankfulness” that there were no injuries considering “the potentially devastating consequences of such a major fire”.

“We could have been looking at devastation given the close proximity to quite a number of businesses within the Balloo area and the proximity to hundreds and hundreds of homes within Bangor,” he said.

North Down MP Alex Easton urged people to stay away from the area to allow the emergency services to carry out their work and to keep access routes clear.

“I want to pay tribute to the firefighters and all emergency personnel responding in difficult circumstances,” he said.

Alliance Party MLA Connie Egan praised the NIFRS for its “prompt and professional response” to the fire, which she said could have caused “even more damage had they not managed to bring it under control quickly”.

“This was a very major fire and has obviously caused quite a lot of concern to those living nearby,” she added.

“My thoughts are with the team at Fusco, who will be incredibly distressed.”