Landmark building fire was arson, say police
Police now believe that the recent fire at the Queen’s Building in central Belfast was started deliberately.
120 firefighters battled for over 15 hours to contain last Thursday’s blaze. The fire caused chaos in the city’s commercial district, as well as millions of pounds worth of damage to the landmark building.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman confirmed today: “Officially we are now treating it as arson.” The announcement comes following recent forensic examination, after structural damage had made the building unsafe for several days.
Conservationists’ initial fears that the Victorian building, built in 1883, would have to be demolished have been eased City council surveyors’ initial assessment that it would survive.
The four-storey structure contained a Waterstones bookstore, a jewellers and the Belfast bureau of the Press Association news agency. The fire began on the top floor, resulting in water flooding down through the building, ruining thousands of books, as well as other valuable stock.
