14 rescued in Belfast arson attack
Firemen rescued 14 people after an arson attack on a block of flats today.
Some were found clinging from windows in the Belfast block and screaming for help. A couple and their nine-month-old baby were among those saved.
Fire chief Chris Kerr said: “They were very, very lucky.”
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. Up to 20 firemen, some using breathing apparatus, were involved.
Apart from the couple and their child, three men were rescued from the third floor. Five were pulled to safety from the second floor, and three from the fourth.
Mr Kerr said: “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.”
