Firefighters and local farmers have been praised for tackling a huge blaze that destroyed several units within an industrial estate in Newry.
The fire at the Greenbank Industrial Estate in the town’s Ballinacraigh Way area broke out on Saturday at around noon.
Almost 50 firefighters with six appliances were called to the scene, while residents in nearby homes were urged to shut their doors and windows to protect from the billowing smoke.
Local farmers also arrived at the industrial estate with machinery including slurry tanks in order to assist firefighters with accessing water to douse the flames.
NI Fire Service group commander Paul Gould spoke to the BBC on Saturday evening and thanked the farmers for their help.
It is understood the fire broke out at a go-kart centre in one of the buildings in the industrial estate, before spreading to two other units.
One of the neighbouring units was a warehouse belonging to furniture retail business House of Murphy.
In a statement posted to social media, a spokesperson for the company urged customers to “please bear with us while we try to salvage and recover”.
They added: “Thanks a million to the emergency services and farmers that helped out. We appreciate everything. The outreach of help and support has been overwhelming.”
House of Murphy’s Selina Murphy told the BBC the company was marking its 50th anniversary this year, and described the damage to the units as “shocking”.
Firefighters remained at the scene on Sunday, and Newry and Armagh Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins said: “This was a major blaze causing devastating damage to businesses units at Greenback but we are thankful that there are no injuries. It is essential that businesses impacted upon receive all support possible.
She added: “Our community is once again deeply indebted to the officers of the Fire Service for their efforts under such dangerous conditions. I also would commend those local farmers who supported the Fire Service by helping douse down the flames”.
