Published Sunday, 30 May 2010
It is believed the fire was started in bins at the rear of one of the premises on the Belmont Road, at about 4am on Sunday morning.
Four crews were needed to tackle the blaze, which caused severe damage to one of the shops.
"The fire had taken hold on the roof itself and a fair amount of damage has occurred.
"It's our belief that the fire was started deliberately in the bins to the rear of the premises," said Fire Service Assistant Group Commander Mark Graham.
He added: "Obviously this has a huge impact to the resources we have to commit to it - and to the property owners - the businesses themselves."
Firefighters were also called to another incident in the east of the city.
Commercial premises were again at the centre of a fire, shortly before 9am. The three-storey building on the Beersbridge Road was well alight when crews arrived at the scene.
It has not yet been established how that fire started.