Firefighters battle blaze

Firefighters battle blaze

24 April 2019

HUNDREDS of terrified holidaymakers in Newcastle were forced to flee on Sunday evening as high winds drove a ferocious gorse fire — which had been started deliberately — perilously close to their caravans at the foot of the Mournes.

The fire broke out at around 8.30pm on a hill close to Bonny’s caravan park at the Tullybrannigan area in the resort with a number of nearby homeowners also advised to leave by the emergency services as the blaze took hold.

At the height of the malicious fire which destroyed 25 acres of land, 55 firefighters battled to bring it under control as the Fire and Rescue Service implemented an emergency response which included eight fire engines and two pumping appliances.

Reports suggest that the raging inferno was almost one mile long at times with fire chiefs warning lives were put at risk and that the outcome could have been significantly different if the wind had not changed direction, steering the blaze away from homes and caravans.

Holidaymakers and a number of Tullybrannigan Road residents, who were evacuated by bus to the Newcastle Centre as the firefighters battled the blaze, were allowed to return to the caravan park and their homes during the early hours of Monday. 

Those who were forced to flee and local politicians have praised the firefighters for working in particularly challenging and exhaustive conditions on Sunday. 

People who were staying at the caravan park over the traditionally busy Easter holiday weekend described what happened as “unreal and frightening” and explained once the fire took hold, it spread incredibly quickly.

“It was a  really scary situation for us all,” one woman told reporters.”It was especially frightening for children who were in the caravan park. At one point the fire appeared really close to caravans at the back of Bonny’s.”

Another holidaymaker forced to flee said she saw smoke rising from trees at the rear of the caravan park and that the blaze spread really quickly, with people then advised to leave.

“Around 10pm we were told to evacuate and it was quite scary as everyone tried to filter out of the caravan park at the same time to make our way to the Newcastle Centre,” she added.

Jim Beattie, who was on the Tullybrannigan Road when the fire broke out and has a caravan in Bonny’s caravan park, said the fire had spread so quickly it was “unbelievable”.

Fire chiefs say one of their biggest fears during the emergency response on Sunday was that the blaze could reach the caravan park peppered with gas bottles which could have exploded.

Fire and Rescue Service group commander, Eddie Carroll, confirmed that while the fire was making its way towards the caravan park, the wind thankfully changed direction which took flames away from the immediate area.

“From our point of view, this was a very positive turn of events,” he said. “It could potentially have been a very different story if the wind had not changed direction. 

“This was a very serious incident with crews working in very challenging and difficult conditions for quite a number of hours to deal with this fire. Thankfully, we brought the incident under control.”

Mr Carroll said that due to the presence of bracken and gorse, the fire on the hillside spread rapidly due to windy conditions.

“This was a running wild fire burning across the hillside. You could see the flames jumping across areas of gorse, moving at a rapid rate,” he said.

Mr Carroll said the Fire and Rescue Service worked alongside a number of agencies including the PSNI, Forest Service, Mourne Mountain Rescue Team and NIE, confirming holidaymakers were moved to the Newcastle Centre as a precaution as the blaze was spreading towards the caravan park.

The fire chief also warned that malicious blazes such as the one last Sunday divert Fire and Rescue Service resources away from emergencies such as house fires and road accidents, appealing for public support to ensure that deliberate fires do not happen.

Mr Carroll’s colleague, Max Joyce, said that when these people deliberately start fires, they have no idea where they are going to end up. He said people who start such fires need to think long and hard about stopping what they are doing.

Mr Joyce said the first firefighters who responded to the weekend fire were on the scene within 11 minutes of the alarm being raised and stayed throughout the night to make sure no one lost their life. Mr Joyce said there was a “pattern of hill fires in and around Easter”, some of which were started deliberately.

He added: “These people really need to stop doing this. I can’t understand the mentality.”

Police investigating Sunday’s malicious blaze have issued an appeal for information and want to hear from anyone who can assist them with their enquires. Anyone who can help is asked to use the non-emergency 101 number, quoting reference 1407 21/04/19.