45 firefighters tackle blaze at Everglades

The operation involved a total of 45 members of the Fire and Rescue Service, who have been commended for their work.

A Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) Spokesperson said: “Shortly after 11pm last night we were informed by Police that a device had been left in the reception area of the Everglades Hotel in Londonderry and Fire Crews were put on standby.

“Around 2am Fire Crews attended the scene and were on standby there before the device activated causing an extensive fire in the reception area of the hotel.

“At the height of the incident 6 Fire Appliances, an Ariel Platform and a Command Support Unit attended the incident. Around 45 Firefighters worked hard, in difficult circumstances, in bringing the fire under control and containing the damage to the reception area and preventing the fire from spreading to other parts of the hotel.

“Fire Crews remain at the scene this morning dampening down. NIFRS would like to commend the action of the hotel staff in the text book evacuation of the hotel. Their actions of closing fire doors behind them greatly assisted NIFRS in the prevention of fire spread to other parts of the hotel.”