VIDEO: Firefighters tackle blaze in Londonderry city centre

Around 50 firefighters are in attendance at the blaze at the Poundstretcher store in Bishop Street in the city. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) say they were alerted to the fire at around 1.30am this morning.

It is believed that 100 gas canisters were inside the premises and exploded although there are no reports of any injuries.

The NIFRS said their officers had prevented the blaze from spreading to businesses on either side of the scene of the fire. As yet, the cause of the fire is unknown but substantial damage has been caused to the building.

NIFRS Group Commander Colm McGuigan said that the fire looked harmless at first and one fire crew had attended.

“But, a fully developed fire was going on behind the shutters of the shop. There were eight crews at the scene at one time then three other crews arrived. This is a four-storey building and our main focus was to make sure this fire didn’t spread. We don’t know exactly how it happened,” he said.

An investigation is due to get underway.