Suspect fire at Albert St

The blaze broke out just before 11pm on Sunday night, causing extensive damage to the terraced property.

Police are treating the incident as suspicious and have appealed for information.

One man who witnessed the drama said he was fearful that other houses would catch fire.

“A guy who lives near me came to my door to tell me what was happening,” he said.

“I looked out and the bottom of the house was engulfed in flames.

“I was throwing buckets of water onto the flames when the firemen came.

“We’re just lucky that none of the other houses caught fire. It could very easily have been a whole lot worse.”

He continued: “

Firefighters attended the scene and quickly extinguished the blaze.

Another resident who lives in the area said the house, which has not been occupied for some time, is regularly used as a “drinking den”.

“It’s the same people drinking there all the time,” she said.

“People in Albert Street are getting sick and tired of them using our area as a drinking den.”

She continued: “To me, it looks like the house was deliberately set on fire. There’s no way it was an accident.”

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Lurgan CID on 0845 600 8000.

Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.