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Hospital power outage concerns over bonfire site

Rebekah Wilson
BBC News NI
BBC Image of sign on corrugated iron gate. The sign is yellow and in Black it reads DANGER Hazardous Waste KEEP OUT. BBC

There are concerns that the power supply has been put at risk at Belfast City Hospital because of an Eleventh night bonfire.

The bonfire has been built near a major electricity substation between the Donegal Road and the Westlink.

The Belfast Trust said "senior engineers will remain on site" at the hospital during the Eleventh night.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said it had expressed concerns over the bonfire's "proximity to the substation causing potential risk to critical infrastructure and power outages".

The bonfire site has recently been the subject of concerns over asbestos that agencies and authorities said they were "unable" to remove.

Bonfires are lit annually in some unionist areas across Northern Ireland to usher in the Twelfth of July, the main date in the parading season.

A map showing the bonfire's location.

In a statement to The Nolan Show, the network said it has put mitigations in place, including turning off the transformers adjacent to the bonfire, building scaffolding with metal sheeting around the transformers and placing steel plates on open cable ducts to reduce the risk of fire and damage.

However it warned that "there will be a reduction in security of supply for the area".

"We would remind the public that flames near to power lines and electricity substations pose serious risk to everyone's safety and wellbeing," NIE added.

The Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has visited bonfire site on Tuesday.

PA Media A group of silhouettes, look like young people, standing in front of a lit bonfire, with lots of emblems across the pallets and billows of smoke. PA Media
Bonfires are lit annually in some unionist areas across Northern Ireland to usher in the Twelfth of July

Former senior police officer Jon Burrows told the show that there was a need for this in a "clear multi-agency approach... someone chairing a meeting with all the relevant people, fire service, landowners, the council and the environment agency" to address public safety concerns.

"People have a right to have cultural traditions and they should be respected and protected but bonfires should be safe, should be lawful," he added.

The bonfire site, which has been closed off by metal gates with signs reading "DANGER HAZARDOUS WASTE KEEP OUT", in the corner you can see the bonfire.
In a statement, the council said it previously took enforcement action and secured the site due to asbestos in 2011

Asbestos concerns

Concerns over asbestos have also been raised.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said in a statement on the asbestos concerns and said it had put in place mitigations "over the past week including the further covering of the asbestos containing material, the use of fire-retardant material and the erection of additional fencing".

It added that the department is in "ongoing contact with the council".

The PSNI said it is working with "partner agencies, community representatives and landowners to address community safety issues relating to bonfires".

It said due to the "potential that judicial proceedings may be initiated" it would not comment on specific bonfires.

The bonfire that's built with red, white and blue pallets. The entrance of the building has wood and debris on the street.
The bonfire site has recently been the subject of concerns over asbestos

On Monday former UUP Belfast City councillor Chris McGimpsey told BBC's Talkback programme the issue around asbestos is not about bonfires and "could have been dealt with immediately".

"Everyone is passing resolutions but no one is doing anything about it."

Last month Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor Tracy Kelly expressed concern but warned against "scaremongering".

"It's a very, very big bonfire site and the bonfire is not where this asbestos is. It's on another part of the site," she said.

Belfast City Council (BCC) said the land in which the bonfire sits is the "responsibility of the landowner" who "appointed a contractor" when the council issued a notice about the asbestos issue.

It added that more mitigation measures including "further covering of the asbestos containing material, additional fencing in the area around the asbestos and the use of fire retardant material as an added precaution" were agreed to be taken by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, last Thursday.

Last month council said it previously took enforcement action and secured the site due to asbestos in 2011.

The committee also considered a proposal from the SDLP to employ licensed contractors to remove the asbestos.

The council heard that would cost a six-figure sum. The motion was voted down.

On Monday, the SDLP's Matthew O'Toole told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme on Monday that the situation, in relation to asbestos, "is absolutely bonkers".

"It is unacceptable that my constituents including people who actually want to attend that bonfire... are being put at risk."