A man has been charged with arson endangering life after the blazing roof of a pub collapsed in a pile of debris in Co Down yesterday.
Flames were seen shooting from the smouldering wreckage of the terraced building at the Plough Bar in The Square, Hillsborough shortly after 1.30am.
Crews of 50 firefighters from around the country battled for two and a half hours to contain the blaze, which developed in the roof space, but nobody was hurt.
Police said the 20-year-old accused had been charged with a number of offences including arson and would appear at Lisburn Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
Station Officer Martin McDonald said: "In one part of the building we had a total roof collapse and it damaged the floors below with the weight of the debris and the material.
"Had it been an hour earlier there could have been an awful lot more people inside the premises and maybe some people who had been drinking may not have reacted as quickly." Half the building was badly affected with lower floors smoke damaged.
Fire crew spent some time checking the blackened embers but the area around the fire has been re-opened to traffic. He said 15 people, mainly bar staff, had quickly evacuated the premises. Fire crews were called from Belfast and across Co Down and a water pumping appliance doused the flames from above.
Mr McDonald added: "When we arrived seven minutes after receiving the call high winds hampered firefighters and we had great difficulty preventing the fire from spreading."
Meanwhile, fire crews were also called last night to a fire at a tanning salon on the Woodstock Road in east Belfast. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service's Assistant Group Commander David Patton said an electrical fault may be to blame for the incident shortly after 11.30pm.
"Six shops in total were affected. Firefighters did a good job in stopping further damage to the row of shops but there was substantial damage to the tanning and beauty salon," he said.
"There was severe damage to some of the electrical appliances used in the tanning shop and the fire had spread up to the roof area. "It was burned right through and it was very hard to bring under control." A total of five appliances were used to fight the fire.