A major fire has broken out at the Bombardier’s aircraft factory which is on Queens island next to Belfast City Airport.
Pictures from the scene showed massive plumes of smoke rising from the site as fire tore through the roof of one building where fuselage sections are made.
The fire damaged machinery and the roof of the building but no aircraft sections or parts.
A total of 50 firefighters tackled the blaze and a at the time of the incident a spokesperson for Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) said: “NIFRS is currently attending an incident at Bombardier Aerospace, Airport Road, Belfast. The incident involves a factory unit on fire. NIFRS received the first call to the incident at 2045hrs with our first resource in attendance within 2 minutes.
“There are currently a total of 6 pumping appliances, 1 aerial appliance, a high volume pump with a total of 50 firefighters and supervisory officers engaged in firefighting operations to contain the fire.
“Members of the public are asked to avoid the area of Airport Road to enable firefighting operations to continue unhindered.”
The site at Belfast, Queens Island site makes wings and fuselage sections for the Airbus A220 aircraft
The fire was brought under control on Sunday evening.
In a statement, Bombardier said: “Thanks to the incredible work of Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue, along with our health and safety and operations teams, yesterday’s fire at our Belfast, Queen’s Island site was contained within one area of the factory.
“While there is damage to some machinery and a portion of the roof, there is no damage to any aircraft structures or aerostructure assembly lines. Following thorough safety inspections, work has resumed as normal in other areas of the factory.
“We will work with our customers and suppliers to address any production concerns, however, we are confident there will be minimal impact to customer deliveries.”
