Church arsonists ‘lucky’ to escape

THE young people responsible for lighting fires inside a derelict church in Castlederg are “lucky the fumes didn’t get them.”

Shortly after 7pm on Sunday, two fire appliances attended the blaze at St Eugene’s on the Castlefinn Road, following a 999 call by a member of the public. A water extinguisher was used to deal with the fire, which was put out by 8.05pm.

The PSNI subsequently confirmed they are treating the fire as arson and an investigation remains ongoing. A number of youths were witnessed fleeing the scene.

Speaking in the wake of the arson attack, parish sacristan, Seamus Coyle described the incident as “a sad state of affairs.”

He continued, “An older man who had been down at his daughter’s grave on Sunday evening saw the young ones coming out. But he didn’t realise there was anything wrong until he saw the smoke coming out of the old chapel.

“Really and truly, they didn’t do a pile of damage. But the thing is, they were lucky. They set two fires. They burnt flags and tents that were being stored by the scouts. The flags were in a room upstairs and then when they had lit those, they had to get downstairs to set the tents on fire, which were in the middle of the floor. They were lucky they got down the stairs again because as one fireman was saying, the smoke would have got them before the flames did.

“They were very, very lucky the fumes didn’t get them,” he said.

Mr Coyle, who has been a sacristan for the past 24 years said he felt like crying when he saw the aftermath of the blaze inside the church.

“I was sad,” he added. “And it was lucky the fire wasn’t worse than it was. There is pine timber around the walls in the chapel and a fireman said that if wood had of caught fire it would have gone up in seconds and it would have been a whole different story, then.”

Remarking on what he would say to the young people responsible, he continued, “I would try and explain to them about what the chapel means. It’s a very reverent and holy place… and it doesn’t matter if it’s Catholic or Presbyterian or whatever, these are all houses of God.”

Police are this week appealing for information and witnesses in relation to the fire. Sergeant McDermott said, “Our enquiries into the incident, which we are treating as arson, are continuing, and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw any suspicious activity, or who may have any information which could assist, to contact us on 101, and quote reference number 1582 22/05/22.”

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