Londonderry: Fire at old school building was arson

Image caption, The fire service says there have been ten incidents at the former school site since 2021

A fire at a former school in Londonderry was started deliberately, firefighters have said.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attended the derelict premises, where Faughan Valley High School was sited, on Drumahoe Road at 20:17 GMT on Sunday.

At the height of the blaze, 50 firefighters were at the scene, with seven pumping appliances and one aerial appliance.

It was put out shortly before midnight.

On Monday morning a NIFRS spokesman said the cause of the fire was "deliberate ignition".

In a statement, the police have said that significant damage had been caused to the building.

"The fire is being treated as arson and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw any suspicious activity, or has any information, to contact us," they said.

Nearby residents had been told to keep doors and windows shut for a time.

Faughan Valley High School amalgamated with Clondermot High School in 2004 to form Lisneal College.

Image caption, Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton said there's frustation locally over the incidents at the site

NIFRS group commander Ryan Thompson told 大象传媒 News NI it was the tenth incident that fire crews have attended at the site since July 2021.

"We've had seven building fires and two external fires," he said.

"As a derelict site there's asbestos here... there's glass, there's old pipes - it's not a playground."

Mr Thompson said the fire on Sunday night had utilised an extensive amount of the service's resources.

That, he added, could have impacted on how fire crews might have responded to other incidents.

'Huge amount of resource'

Foyle DUP assembly member Gary Middleton told 大象传媒 Radio Foyle's North West Today that it was fortunate the fire did not have more serious consequences.

"Clearly this was a significant fire, it could have ended - obviously we now know it is being treated as a deliberate arson attack - in the loss of life," he said.

"Sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened."

Mr Middleton said dealing with the latest fire had "pulled a huge amount of resource" that could have been needed elsewhere in the north west.

Ongoing issues at the former school are an area of increasing concerns among the local community, he added.

The former school is owned by the Education Authority, who last year deemed it surplus to requirements and started a process to dispose of the site.

Mr Middleton said he would now be requesting an update on that process.