Emergency services respond to Ballymena town centre fire

A town centre street in Ballymena was closed on Saturday afternoon after firefighters responded to reports of a blaze in the area.

It is understood the incident involved rubbish that had been set alight to the rear of a property on Castle Street.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using one hose quickly tackled the blaze and brought it under control. A smoke clearance fan was also deployed to ventilate the affected area.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said:

“Police assisted emergency services colleagues with traffic management in the Castle Street area of Ballymena, following a report of a fire on Saturday, 18th October.

“Enquiries are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire and anyone with information is asked to contact police on the 101 number, quoting reference 822 of 18/10/25.

“You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.”

Emergency services remained at the scene for a time to ensure the fire was fully extinguished and to clear residual smoke from nearby properties.

Castle Street had since reopened, while the cause of the fire remains under investigation.