Police investigating gorse fire arrest teenager

Officers, investigating a gorse fire in the Upper Cavehill Road area on Wednesday (27 April), arrested the young male in West Belfast.

The fire was reported at around 9.20pm last night and colleagues in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service continue to work to make the area safe again.

Chief Inspector Fox said: “Lighting uncontrolled gorse fires is highly irresponsible and has the potential to cause widespread damage to the environment and harm to wildlife, as well as threatening homes, farms and the people living in those areas.
“The unpredictability of fire can also mean that those causing them may be putting their own lives at risk, as well as the lives of the fire service personnel and other emergency services tasked to deal with them.

“Police will be proactive in robustly investigating such reports and would urge landowners and members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to Police through 101, online or in an emergency 999,” Chief Inspector Fox ended.