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Late this afternoon a large number of firefighters were still in attendance at the scene of a devastating overnight fire at Loughbrook Industrial Estate on the Camlough Road near Bessbrook. The destruction coming just over two weeks to Christmas make it all the more difficult for business owners and employees who now have no premises to work out of.
The massive fire raged through around 10 units in the estate with businesses affected including Newry Furniture Centre, AX Board Kitchens, The Cane Centre and Crilco. A crew of around 60 fire crew from stations all over the north were on hand through the night and managed to prevent it spreading to other units.
A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said “The fire has caused significant damage to several of the industrial units however, Firefighters have worked hard overnight to prevent the fire from spreading to other units within the complex"
The fire was reported at 12.27am this morning, 7 December and over 16 hours later it is still smoldering in places. Late this afternoon a digger worked to remove debris, to enable fire crew to access other areas that were still a threat. The incident has been scaled back with currently 32 Firefighters, 5 Fire Appliances, a Command Support Unit, an Aerial Appliance and Water Tanker in attendance.
One of the businesses affected AX Board Kitchens announced on their social media channel that they were overwhelmed with the kindness and support they have received. "We want to reassure all our employees, customers and friends that we are working hard to implement a plan to return the business to as near normal trading as quickly as possible. Anyone with orders outstanding will be contacted by our team.
"We are overwhelmed with the kindness we are being shown by our staff and the community. It means so much at such a difficult time."
Speaking about the tragedy Slieve Gullion Councillors Cllr Oonagh Magennis and Cllr Declan Murphy said "The Loughbrook Industrial Estate was home to a number of businesses, providing jobs to many people from the local area. This will be a huge blow to the local community just weeks away from Christmas. We will be happy to offer any advice or assistance to the businesses impacted in the weeks ahead."
A spokesperson from NIFRS has said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
