Families whose homes were destroyed when burning embers from a Twelfth bonfire set them alight last night have spoken of their devastation.
Two homes at Knockleigh Walk in Greenisland near Belfast were destroyed and two others in the terraced row were badly damaged, reports RTE.
David Haighton has lived in his house for more than 50 years.
The 87-year-old said thousands of embers from the fire started landing around his home shortly after the Twelfth bonfire was lit at midnight, reports RTE.
He said things were made worse by a stiff breeze.
“The amount of cinders, bright burning cinders, tens of thousands of them coming flying over the house, right over the roofs and into the back,” reports RTE.
The blaze intensified as several oil tanks at the rear of the houses caught fire.
He alerted his neighbour and ran to wake his elderly wife who was in bed at the time, reports RTE.
“The only thing that keeps me going is that I was able to get in when I saw how bad it was and screamed at my wife ‘get out as quick as you can, the house is on fire’.”
A number of gas cylinders were recovered before they could explode, reports RTE.
Billy Withers arrived at the scene this morning to liaise with the fire service and inspect the damage.
The house belongs to his daughter and her partner, reports RTE.
Visibly upset, he said he was “devastated” that his daughter’s personal effects and those of her partner had been destroyed by the fire.
“It breaks my heart. I was coming down to see if there’s anything we could salvage but the firemen say you can’t get in.
“But to see that, and everything that she has built up. It’s gone,” reports RTE.
The fire service said the cause of the blaze is believed to have been accidental.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said there were 45 firefighting personnel on scene, six pumping appliances, a Command Support Unit and an aerial ladder, reports RTE.
In a statement, NIFRS said that five firefighting jets were in use alongside an aerial water tower.
“Some residents had to be evacuated from their properties, and our thoughts are with those who have been affected.
“NIFRS would like to thank local partner agencies and the community for their help in support of the displaced families.
“Further to completing our Fire Investigation today the most probable cause is thought to be accidental ignition due to embers from a nearby bonfire,” reports RTE.
The incident follows the death of a man at a bonfire site in east Belfast earlier this week.
Flowers have been left at the site in Braniel where the man sustained serious injuries in an accident before dying later in hospital, reports RTE.
It was a busy night for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, which said it had attended 54 bonfire-related call-outs.
The fire service also had to deal with a bonfire that spread to a garage in south Belfast, and in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, crews had to withdraw from a bonfire due to a hostile crowd, reports RTE.
Most of the Twelfth bonfires have now been lit, but a few remain to be burned tonight on the eve of the Orange Order parades.
They have been moved to tomorrow because the Twelfth falls on a Sunday this year, reports RTE.
One of the few remaining bonfires is at Sandy Row in the centre of Belfast, and it has a large printed poster of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor on it.
Donaldson was convicted of the rape of a child and other sex offences last month, while his wife was found to have aided and abetted him in a non-criminal process called a trial of the facts, reports RTE.
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