Fire crews praised for quick actions

He said their actions on Sunday afternoon prevented the fire, that began close to an oil tank, from spreading to other homes in the area.

Three homes were damaged in total but Mr Watson believes that the fire crews’ quick actions prevented serious damage and tragedy.

Extensive damage was caused to one home and another unoccupied property had damage to PVC windows, guttering and wooden cladding while a third had heat damage caused to the guttering and fascia board.

It is believed that arsonists are responsible for setting rubbish on fire, close to an oil tank around 4pm on Sunday.

Two appliances from Lisburn Fire Station and two from Cadogan Fire Station attended the incident which was dealt with by 5pm.

The fire service received two calls claiming rubbish had been set on fire near an unoccupied home. When crews arrived it was quickly established that the fire was much more serious and more crews had to be called.

Fire spread from the oil tank to the rear of first of the semi detached homes.

“The fire crews did a fantastic job in preventing the spread of the fire,” said Mr Watson. “Their quick actions prevented the fire from spreading to other homes.

“Fire crews from Cadogan arrived but the fire was well and truly under control and had it spread there is no doubt there would have been much more serious damage to other properties and we would have been dealing with a much more serious incident.

“We were dealing with fire and fuel.”

Police in Lisburn are investigating the incident.

In a statement they said, “Police attended the scene of a fire at Mountview Drive in Lisburn at around 4.30pm. The fire, which is believed to have been deliberately started close to an oil tank, destroyed one vacant house and significantly damaged another.

“Police are investigating and would encourage anyone with information to speak with them. They can be contacted on 0845 600 8000.”