FIREMEN who tackled a blaze in Downpatrick town centre on Monday night have been commended for their hard work in bringing the fire under control.
A South Eastern Regional College (SERC) building at the rear of the campus, and which is adjacent to St. Patrick’s Drive, was gutted.
The blaze at the building, which up until two weeks ago was occupied by students, was spotted shortly after 9pm and it took almost 40 firemen from the town’s station and colleagues from Ballynahinch and Newcastle nearly two hours to extinguish the flames.
The fire, which prompted police to close St. Patrick’s Drive to traffic, is now the subject of a PSNI investigation, with scenes of crime officers treating the cause of the fire as “suspicious” and the Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed it believes the fire was started deliberately.
Yesterday (Tuesday) campus manager David Smith explained that the building, which had been used as workshops for trainee mechanics, was destined for demolition within the coming weeks.
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