West Belfast 5G arson rampage continues as brand new mast is torched twice in one night
Firefighters responded to reports of an electrical box belonging to the mast on fire close to the Stewartstown Road shortly before 11pm on Saturday.
A spokesperson for NIFRS said: 'Two appliances attended the incident, one appliance from Springfield fire station and one appliance from Lisburn Road.
'The fire was extinguished at 11:13pm.'
Just two hours later, at 1:25am, firefighters received a second call, this time from police who discovered that the same mast had been set alight during routine patrols.
The fire service confirmed they attended the same location, this time for a mast that was well alight.
A spokesperson for NIFRS said: 'Two fire appliances from Springfield fire station and an aerial platform from Knock fire station attended the blaze.
'The fire was extinguished by a hose reel, and firefighters remained at the scene until 2:25am.'
Police hit out at the 'extremely dangerous' behaviour.
Chief Inspector Hamilton said: 'The fire was well underway by the time officers came across it, and there was an electric box located nearby, which posed an additional risk.
'Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service subsequently attended, extinguishing the fire and confirming that the structure was secure, with the power isolated. NIE further attended to confirm that power had been cut to the mast.
'This is the latest in a number of fires targeting 5G masts in the area and it is being treated as deliberate.
'Setting fire to electrical equipment is extremely dangerous and reckless and puts not only the perpetrator, but also members of the public at risk. The damage also costs the mast-owners a substantial amount of money to repair and affects the mobile phone service of the local community.
'We continue to engage with local representatives and the mast-owners around the issue.'
An attempt to torch the same mast was foiled just two weeks earlier when a member of the public disturbed a male attempting to set the mast alight.
Telecoms workers had been working on fully installing the new mast in recent days; it was to replace an existing mast that was set alight last year.
The latest attack brings the number of masts destroyed in Belfast since 2021 to 16.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Belfast Telegraph
West Belfast 5G arson rampage continues as brand new mast is torched twice in one night
Firefighters responded to reports of an electrical box belonging to the mast on fire close to the Stewartstown Road shortly before 11pm on Saturday. A spokesperson for NIFRS said: 'Two appliances attended the incident, one appliance from Springfield fire station and one appliance from Lisburn Road. 'The fire was extinguished at 11:13pm.' Just two hours later, at 1:25am, firefighters received a second call, this time from police who discovered that the same mast had been set alight during routine patrols. The fire service confirmed they attended the same location, this time for a mast that was well alight. A spokesperson for NIFRS said: 'Two fire appliances from Springfield fire station and an aerial platform from Knock fire station attended the blaze. 'The fire was extinguished by a hose reel, and firefighters remained at the scene until 2:25am.' Police hit out at the 'extremely dangerous' behaviour. Chief Inspector Hamilton said: 'The fire was well underway by the time officers came across it, and there was an electric box located nearby, which posed an additional risk. 'Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service subsequently attended, extinguishing the fire and confirming that the structure was secure, with the power isolated. NIE further attended to confirm that power had been cut to the mast. 'This is the latest in a number of fires targeting 5G masts in the area and it is being treated as deliberate. 'Setting fire to electrical equipment is extremely dangerous and reckless and puts not only the perpetrator, but also members of the public at risk. The damage also costs the mast-owners a substantial amount of money to repair and affects the mobile phone service of the local community. 'We continue to engage with local representatives and the mast-owners around the issue.' An attempt to torch the same mast was foiled just two weeks earlier when a member of the public disturbed a male attempting to set the mast alight. Telecoms workers had been working on fully installing the new mast in recent days; it was to replace an existing mast that was set alight last year. The latest attack brings the number of masts destroyed in Belfast since 2021 to 16.
ITV News
4 days ago
- ITV News
'We're still at war': Jo Hamilton ‘vindicated' by OBE but vows to continue Horizon scandal fight
A former subpostmistress who was a victim of the Horizon IT scandal said she feels 'vindicated' after being made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE), but "can't rest" until everyone affected has been paid compensation. Jo Hamilton, a lead campaigner for Post Office victims, received her OBE for services to justice. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015, after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. A former sub-postmistress, Jo Hamilton was falsely prosecuted when a £36,000 shortfall was calculated by Horizon software at her Post Office branch in Hampshire, in 2006. Her story was featured in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, where she was played by Monica Dolan. On Thursday, Hamilton said being honoured for services to justice by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace was 'beautiful'. 'I feel honoured to be honoured, but the fight continues," said the former sub-postmistress. 'We're still at war until the rest of the postmasters are paid, which is just awful.' She added: 'I do feel vindicated but I can't rest. 'You'd think that after everything that this is the cherry on the cake but I can't stop because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my colleagues.' Hamilton continued: 'Everyone needs to be paid what's right and let everyone get on with their lives because we're all running out of road. 'I'm 22 years older than when it started, I shouldn't have to still be fighting.' On receiving the letter about her honour, she said: 'You can't mistake the envelope, I knew it was something important. 'It was lovely to receive and it's just another step on my journey to get proper redress for everybody.' The Government announced earlier this month that more than £1 billion has been paid out to sub-postmasters across the Horizon-related schemes. But the compensation scheme has been criticised for moving too slowly, or offering far less than sub-postmasters believe they are entitled to. Many are still awaiting compensation.
Glasgow Times
4 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Subpostmistress ‘vindicated' by OBE but vows to continue Horizon scandal fight
Jo Hamilton, 68, was falsely prosecuted for a shortfall of £36,000 at her Post Office branch in South Warnborough, Hampshire, in 2006. Mrs Hamilton, who was played by Monica Dolan in the drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, said being honoured for services to justice by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace on Thursday was 'beautiful'. She told the PA news agency: 'I feel honoured to be honoured but the fight continues. 'We're still at war until the rest of the postmasters are paid, which is just awful.' She added: 'I do feel vindicated but I can't rest. 'You'd think that after everything that this is the cherry on the cake but I can't stop because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my colleagues.' Jo Hamilton received her honour from the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace (Aaron Chown/PA) Mrs Hamilton continued: 'Everyone needs to be paid what's right and let everyone get on with their lives because we're all running out of road. 'I'm 22 years older than when it started, I shouldn't have to still be fighting.' On receiving the letter about her honour, she said: 'You can't mistake the envelope, I knew it was something important. 'It was lovely to receive and it's just another step on my journey to get proper redress for everybody.' The Government announced earlier this month that more than £1 billion has been paid out to subpostmasters across the Horizon-related schemes. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Many are still awaiting compensation.
