Industrial estate blaze believed to be accidental

The Northern Ireland Fire Service has said it believes a large fire at an industrial estate in Bangor, County Down, was accidental.

At the height of the blaze on Friday evening, eight fire crews were at the scene at Fusco Vehicle Sales in the Balloo Industrial Estate.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said that following assessment on Saturday morning, firefighters had left the scene as of 09:20 GMT.

Johnny Fusco, the owner of the premises which was destroyed, said he is relieved no one was injured.

Earlier, NIFRS had said that there had been a structural collapse at the site.

"Everyone is safe so we're delighted with that," Fusco told BBC News NI.

"That's the main thing.

"Everything's okay, everyone's feeling okay."

He said the company will resume operations as usual from an adjoining business on Monday.

He also said that the stock was saved except for three cars, and he paid tribute to the local community.

"The amount of messages and things that are still pouring through is heartwarming," he added.

"We got a lot of support, people rushing to help us move stock.

"Strangers and also people that we know, family, friends, rushing around to check everybody is okay."

Fusco thanked everyone "who came to our aid and reached out".

The fire is now out, but smoke is continuing to rise from the ashes inside the building.

On Friday evening the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) advised the public to avoid Balloo Way in Bangor.

Nearby residents were also asked to keep windows closed due to smoke.

A large plume of smoke hanging in the sky above the industrial estate gave a sense of the fire's scale.

Firefighters tackled the blaze with water from a height.

Cordons in place around the scene ensured there were few members of the public around.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Stephen Dunne said there was "shock and concern" in the community.

He added that there was also "widespread relief and thankfulness" that there were no injuries considering "the potentially devastating consequences of such a major fire".

"We could have been looking at devastation given the close proximity to quite a number of businesses within the Balloo area and the proximity to hundreds and hundreds of homes within Bangor," he said.

North Down MP Alex Easton thanked the emergency services: "I want to pay tribute to the firefighters and all emergency personnel responding in difficult circumstances."

Alliance Party MLA Connie Egan praised the NIFRS for its "prompt and professional response" to the fire, which she said could have caused "even more damage had they not managed to bring it under control quickly".

"This was a very major fire and has obviously caused quite a lot of concern to those living nearby," she added.

"My thoughts are with the team at Fusco, who will be incredibly distressed."