Cause of devastating Newry fire 'accidental', says Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has said a major fire in Newry was accidental.

Flames and thick clouds of smoke were seen rising from the site of the fire at Greenbank Industrial Estate on Ballinacraig Way. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) responded to the blaze on Saturday afternoon.

Six vehicles and dozens of personnel were dispatched to the scene. Locals were warned of the dangers of the fire and advised to stay away from the scene.

In a statement NIFRS said it: "withdrew resources and handed the scene over to the owner of the building at 15:58 yesterday [Sunday]".

One of the businesses destroyed by the blaze was House of Murphy. The family-owned furniture showroom has operated in the city for fifty years.

Owner Shane Murphy told UTV he watched everything he has worked for go up in smoke.

"It is burnt from back to front.

"All of our stock was in these premises at the back and it was the first place to catch fire and go up.

"Thankfully nobody was hurt."

NIFRS thanked the local farming community for stepping in with slurry tanks to help bring the fire under control.

Incident Commander John O'Prey said: "We couldn't have done what we did without them.

"We started off with one slurry tank and at the end we had approximately eight slurry tankers and it was just invaluable."

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