Firemen rescue 14 after Belfast arson attack

Firemen rescued 14 people after an arson attack on a block of flats in Belfast today.

Firemen rescued 14 people after an arson attack on a block of flats in Belfast today.

It is believed the blaze was started in a communal hallway on the third floor of Claremont Court in the city's lower Lisburn Road area.

A couple and their nine-month-old child and three men were rescued from the third floor. Five were pulled to safety from the second floor, and three from the fourth.

Up to 20 firemen, some using breathing apparatus, were involved.

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Fire chief Chris Kerr said: "They [those rescued] were very, very lucky. . . . Firemen witnessed something they might never see again - people hanging out of windows with smoke billowing out from behind them, shouting and screaming for help."