Fire Lurgan: Road reopens as badly damaged iconic building is boarded up to keep the public safe
An iconic building, severely damaged by a fire at the weekend, has been boarded up as the road reopens to the public.
Early on Saturday morning numerous fire appliances and two water tankers were tasked to the Windsor Avenue area of Lurgan as firefighters spent around 4 hours battling a huge blaze at an iconic building.
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Residents were evacuated from their homes for a number of hours as the emergency services dealt with the situation however the road since opened.
The road, which was closed for several days to allow contractors to make the building safe, has now reopened with the building itself boarded up and hoarding erected around the site to keep the public safe.
Several car parking spaces in Windsor Avenue will be unavailable while the hoarding remains. It is not known how long the hoarding will be there.
A statement to councillors sitting on Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council said: “The contractor has now completed the emergency works required to make the property safe and prevent any danger to the public.
"As a precaution, the footpath and four adjacent parking bays have been securely fenced off to ensure continued public safety. These measures will remain in place while the building owner considers options for the future of the extensively fire-damaged structure. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.”
New Haven Cafe reassured customers their building was unaffected by the blaze. “New Haven was luckily unaffected by the fire in the adjoining building. We are very grateful to the fire crews who worked through the night protecting us and sincerely hope no one has been injured.”
This is the third time a road in Lurgan has had to be closed in recent years due to an unsafe building. Last year as work was being carried out to the Irish National Foresters in North Street, the street was closed for months after part of a chimney collapsed. Earlier this year, as work was being carried out in William Street on a building, part of the road was also closed after a digger was brought in to support an unstable structure.