Arson attack 'may have been racist'

Arsonists who set fire to a block of flats today may have been racially motivated, police believe.

A Chinese family were among six people rescued from the fire in Belfast.

Fire officers found the remains of a burned-out mattress which had been left in a hallway blocking their escape.

Shocked neighbours said the six were lucky to get out with their lives after being trapped in the three-storey building at Eglantine Avenue in the city’s university area, not far from another student district, the Holylands.

Fire crews discovered the victims on window ledges screaming for help as thick smoke engulfed the building, which is split into six flats.

Ladders were used to bring the family of four and another man down to safety.

As the intensity of the blaze eased, crew members were able to get a woman out by the staircase.

All of them needed treatment for shock and slight smoke inhalation.

The fire is believed to have started on the mattress which had been dumped in a ground-floor escape corridor.

Bundles of papers had been put on top of it, according to watch commander Ashley Jeffries.

He confirmed the Fire and Rescue Service was treating it as suspicious. Mr Jeffries said: “When we arrived, the front door was wide open.

“It looks like whoever has made an attempt has possibly just walked in, set it alight and obviously made good their escape.

“But this will obviously be confirmed by forensics with the PSNI.”

Smoke alarms fitted in the building sounded to raise the alarm just after 2am, the fire chief added.

The fire was the latest in a series of racial attacks, mostly on eastern Europeans, which have been going on in Belfast over recent years.

South Belfast MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell said he was shocked at the rise in the number of arson attacks in areas of his constituency. There had been a rise of more than 100 incidents last year and it was deeply worrying.

He added: “South Belfast, with a highly dense population particularly concentrated in the two areas mentioned, is at a higher risk than other parts of the city. The potential casualties or fatalities in houses of multiple occupancy are vastly increased.

“Coupled with a rise in anti-social behaviour, the dangers are there plain for all to see.”