Firefighters work overnight to tackle major blaze

Firefighters have worked overnight to tackle a major blaze close to Newry city centre.

At its height, about 50 crew members dealt with the incident at Greenbank industrial estate.

It is believed to have started at a kart racing centre just before noon on Saturday, before spreading to two other units.

The owner of one of them, a furniture shop, said it had been shocking to learn of the scale of the damage.

A senior Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) commander thanked local farmers who helped carry water to the scene using slurry tanks.

“I can’t commend them enough,” Paul Gould told BBC News NI.

“The use of their agricultural vehicles and their help and assistance has been so valuable.

“They’ve been assisting us with their machinery and were able to feed us water, initially, when we didn’t have enough resources here and they’re still assisting us.

“So, I honestly want to thank each and every one of them.”

Mr Gould said officers had been working in “dangerous conditions” as the fire was “well-developed” when crews arrived.

He added that the blaze had been complicated due to the “layout and construction of the building”.

The fire spread to two other units, including a furniture showroom.

The owners of the furniture shop, House of Murphy, a 50-year-old business, said their shop had been destroyed.

Selina Murphy told BBC News NI the firm employs 11 people.

“We are in this premises 27 years but this year we were celebrating 50 years in business as the House of Murphy,” she said.

“It’s shocking to see what has happened.

“The fire service has been unreal – they were on site quickly and attended rapidly,” she added.

The operation to extinguish the blaze is ongoing, although NIFRS said its resources at the scene had been scaled back.

Earlier Mr Gould said a “large number of resources” had been deployed to tackle the blaze – six pump appliances, two aerial appliances and one control unit.

Fire officers from Newry, Warrenpoint and Belfast were involved.

The NIFRS had advised residents to “keep all windows and doors closed in the local area”.

The roads around the estate have since reopened.