Tributes have been paid to a fireman who died in a hotel fire in the North that may have been started maliciously.
Joe McCloskey (50) died from his injuries after falling through the roof as he tackled flames in Limavady, Co Derry, early on Saturday morning.
The part-time officer was the first crew member to be killed on duty in the North in nearly a decade.
Police forensic experts, fire service investigators and health and safety chiefs are carrying out full examinations of the debris at the Gorteen House Hotel.
"There are certain signs which lead us to believe it was arson," a source said. But police have found no evidence of a break-in and at this stage are stilltreating the fire as suspicious rather than malicious.
The death has dealt a shattering blow to the whole service, chief fire officerMr Colin Lammey said.
"The firefighters from Dungiven and Limavady who rescued Joe on Saturday morning have been greatly affected by this," said Mr Lammey. "We have trained counsellors dealing with the crews and other officers."
As news of the death spread, phone calls and messages of support flooded in from crews across Northern Ireland, Mr Lammey said. A fund was now likely to be established for Mr McCloskey's widow, Marie, and five children ranging in age from seven to 22, he added.
PA