A senior firefighter has slammed those who started a deliberate fire at a home in East Belfast last night.
Eastern Area Command Group Commander Chris Fee said the blaze at a terrace home in Castlereagh Parade in the early hours of this morning was a "reckless act".
Five fire crews and an aerial appliance were called to deal with the fire in the house at 1.50am on Tuesday morning, April 23.
Tollymore Forest fire likely to have been started deliberately, say police
Mr Fee said: "This was a reckless act and endangered the people living in the houses adjacent."
It is understood the fire in the unoccupied home was started deliberately in the front room.
The fire service said it was a "severe fire" and had been burning for quite a while before crews were called and was therefore a well developed fire when they arrived involving most of the house.
Residents in the homes on either side of the property had to be evacuated for a short period while firefighters tried to contain the blaze, which, thanks to their hard work, did not spread.
Tollymore Forest fire sees 270 people evacuated as crews tackle mile-long blaze
The house has been completely destroyed in the fire and Mr Fee said the fire service believe it was started deliberately. No one was inside at the time, the fire service said.
Police are appealing for information following the fire.
A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately the house has been completely gutted, but thankfully no one was home at the time. Minor damage was caused to a neighbouring property, but no injuries have been reported.
"The cause of the fire is yet to be established and police are appealing to anyone with information to get in touch on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 137 of 23/04/19."
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