Fire crews have dealt with a deliberate gorse fire in Co Antrim this afternoon.
The NI Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at Carnmoney Hill, Newtownabbey at approximately 2.45pm following reports of a large area of gorse on fire.
At the height of the blaze, plumes of smoke could be seen billowing over Belfast as 19 NIFRS personnel battled to bring it under control.
Personnel are being scaled back from the incident at present and the fire service say the cause of the fire was 'deliberate ignition'.
A spokesperson for NIFRS told Belfast Live: "We were called to the scene at 14.45 on Carnmoney Hill following reports of a large area of gorse on fire.
"Three pumps were sent to the incident, two from Glengormley and one from Westland so at the height of the incident we had 19 personnel in attendance.
"The cause is deliberate ignition.
"We've attended a few incidents today which are gorse fires due to the conditions over the last few days, it's been very dry, at the minute there are a few small gorse fires ongoing but thankfully they seem to be small as we are dealing with them quite quickly."
Urging the public to stay safe if they are out and about and using barbecues , the spokesperson added: "We're just reminding people to be very careful if they are out in these areas today and are barbecuing, if you are using a BBQ be sure to dispose of it in the correct way and just be very careful.
"We're also urging people to respect social distancing measures when out and about."
