Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Outdoor Activities => Other => Topic started by: admin on June 05, 2009
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An overnight fire on Northern Ireland's highest mountain was started deliberately, the fire service says.
An Irish Coast Guard helicopter and an RAF helicopter had to help firefighters monitor the gorse fire on Slieve Donard, County Down.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Commander Area Commander Jim McCallum said that they believed the gorse fire had been started deliberately.
"We had three crews during the night mostly to monitor the fire," he said.
"We are extremely reluctant to commit crews during the night-time essentially due to the danger of personnel falling into a gully or getting trapped by the fire."
He said that they would have moved in only if there had been a threat to property.
A/C McCallum said that because it had been such a visible fire their control room had been inundated with calls.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7391635.stm
A gorse fire that has burned over 100 acres in the Mourne Mountains is believed to have been started deliberatly.
Thirty firefighters tackled the blaze which swept across Millstone and Thomas mountain near Donard Park on Thursday morning.
Five appliances were needed to bring the fire under control.
A Fire Service spokesperson said they received a report of the fire at around 10am.
District commander Brian Ervine has said someone could have been killed.
http://u.tv/News/Mourne-fire-started-deliberately/30c07b63-a982-4198-b391-1c4e6135ac54
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They do the same up at Cave Hill, I have a good veiw from my house over the whole mountain and I have seen fire's on the hill for the last couple of night's. I hate to say it but you have to blame young teenager's on them because when you go up there is a few of them hanging around the cave's and getting up to no good.
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From the BBC video it looks like the fire is quite high up the mountain. Doubly disappointing as I wanted to head up to around the Ice House on Sunday.
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that's a long walk just to light a fire!