NI: Woman dies in suspicious blaze

A woman in her 30s died today in a fire in Co Down.

Her body was found early this morning by striking firefighters at her flat at Ballynoe Gardens in the Kilcooley Gardens area of Bangor.

It is the first fire-related death in Northern Ireland since the eight-day fire strike began on Friday.

The alarm was raised at about 2.15am and when police and military fire crews arrived a short time later the flat was well alight.

Striking firefighters, who were contacted from their bases at Bangor and Newtownards, went to the scene and discovered the woman’s body. Her name has not yet been released.

A Fire Service spokesman said the blaze was being treated as suspicious and an investigation was under way.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig said it was too early to speculate on response times or whether the woman could have been saved if the strike had not been under way.

The latest statistics show that since 9pm yesterday there were 39 emergency calls – six hoaxes and 26 genuine. The army’s yellow goddesses were called out 13 times.