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Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Families evacuated over gorse fires

50 firefighters tackled gorse fires in County Antrim

Families were forced out of their homes on Monday night as 50 firefighters tackled a large gorse fire in Co Antrim.

The Fire Service said the blaze in the Marine Parade area of the town, which is still burning, was started deliberately.

Fifty firefighters using nine fire appliances faced difficult conditions as they fought the fire due to the steep slopes and rough terrain in the area.

"Wind conditions were very strong and changed the direction of the fire quickly," said Mark Beresford from the Fire Service.

"There are a large number of houses in the area and it was very dangerous for the fire crews."

"Using thermal imaging cameras we were able to pick up images of more fires being started," he said.

Firefighters continued to tackle the blaze on Tuesday.

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2 Comments

At 18:42 on 16 March 2010, stuart harris wrote:

its just aswell my uncle, thomas mccombe was there, hes a hero, a real life superman. i think he should get an o.b.e

At 18:04 on 16 March 2010, pauline acton wrote:

the familys in these cottages were so lucky to get out in time as there is no road in and out of these cottages and its only a matter of time before a very real traty happens and the people who live in the cottages cant get out and no 999 services cannot get to them as there is no ascess and no one wants to here these peoples plight for any type of road