Londonderry: Derelict hospital fire being treated as deliberate

The building has been extensively damaged and the roof has partially collapsed, the NIFRS says

A fire at a derelict hospital site in Londonderry is being treated as deliberate, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue (NIFRS) has said.

About 40 firefighters attended the blaze at the old Stradreagh Hospital site at about 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

The building has been extensively damaged and the roof has partially collapsed, the NIFRS said.

Nearby residents had been told by the police to keep doors and windows shut as a result of dust and smoke.

At the height of the incident, four fire appliances from Derry, Limavady, Strabane and Dungiven were in attendance.

The incident was dealt with by about 04:30 BST and the cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate ignition, the NIFRS has said.

The Stradreagh Hospital in Gransha was used as a mental health hospital but it has been vacant for a number of years.

The site also temporarily housed Oakgrove Integrated College in the early 1990s until a new purpose-built school was opened in 2004.

The overnight blaze is just one of several incidents at the derelict site over recent years. A fire in 2016 was also believed to have been started deliberately.

'A drain on our resources'

NIFRS group commander Jonathan Tate asked members of the community not to be engage with this kind of activity.

"It draws the resources of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service away from where they need to be," he said.

"We don't need to be dealing with derelict properties that have been set on fire.

"It is a drain on our resources that we could be doing without."

Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton said the former hospital building is one of a number of derelict buildings in Derry that are of concern.

"There is a wider conversation that needs to be urgently had in terms of derelict spaces," he said.

"I know of a number across the city where buildings have laid unoccupied for a considerable amount of time, they attract antisocial behaviour and ultimately could end in someone being seriously injured or killed."

Mr Middleton said he would like to see previous discussions about the former hospital site being handed over for community use "ramped up".

"We really need to see it brought back into some kind of positive community use."