Belfast Cathedral Quarter fire: Man charged with arson over blaze

A teenager has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life after a fire devastated a listed building in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter.

At one point more than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Old Cathedral building at the Donegall Street site.

The site is home to a range of businesses, artists and groups.

The 18-year-old man has also been charged with burglary and possession of a Class B drug and is due to appear in court in Belfast on Tuesday.

The fire was reported shortly after 05:30 BST on Monday and caused hours of traffic disruption in the area.

Some 52 firefighters and five officers were called to the scene.

They were dispatched along with eight fire engines from Belfast, a command unit from Lisburn and two fire aerial appliances.

Elly Makem, a freelance illustrator who works in the building, said she watched her work "literally go up in flames".

It is understood a structural assessment will be carried out before people are allowed back into the building.

There are concerns over the safety of roof beams and chimney structures.

North Belfast MP John Finucane said the fire will be a "blow for many local, independent businesses and creatives and artists".

"I would urge the public to be cautious and to assist the emergency services in whatever way possible."

The Old Cathedral Building was built about 1901 and is believed to have been a tea merchants.

The property became a listed building in March 2003 and is now home to a number of creative art and digital studios.

Ms Makem shares a studio space in the building and said "all of my work" was in there.

"I have physical pieces I haven't submitted to clients yet and I have a £3,000 laptop that I bought last year that had all of my work on it," she told the Good Morning Ulster programme.

"I put so much effort into trying to make it being freelance; it's just watching it literally go up in flames."

Aidan Mulholland owns a violin repair workshop in the attic space of the building and fears he has lost close to £30,000 worth of stock and equipment.

His workshop held a collection of antique violins, specialist tools and materials for making violin bows.

Some of the wood he stocked for making the bows has since been made a protected species and is no longer available to buy.

"They're all carbon now, I assume," he said. "I built that stock up over 30 years."

Tina Calder, owner of Excalibur Press, said she went to the scene as soon as she heard the news.

"The initial reaction is I bawled my eyes out.

"Even though the fire hasn't hit our offices from what we can see, there'll be extensive water damage."

A cafe, which is based on the ground floor of the building, told customers it would remain closed until further notice,

In a tweet, Neighbourhood Cafe said: "Thanks for all the messages of support. We will be back soon."

Businesses affected by the fire have been offered office space by the Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (Bid).

The organisation, tasked with developing the area, said: "Any tenants needing a desk we have coffee and internet, come round to our office at 22 Hill St."

Its manager, Damien Corr, said he had been speaking to "devastated people" and wanted to offer shelter and practical support to get them back up and running as soon as possible.

"I've been in that place many times and it's bursting with creativity" Mr Corr told the BBC's Evening Extra programme.

"One side-effect of this is to see all the other creative industries - like the MAC [Metropolitan Arts Centre] and the Circus School and private businesses... offering space immediately. Everybody is rallying around to help."

Mr Corr added that in the longer term, his organisation was looking for alternative accommodation for the businesses affected.

"We want to talk to people, see what the need is. We're already talking to commercial landlords," he said.

"We want to keep these people in the Cathedral Quarter. The creativity and the art is the heart of what we do and we want to keep it here."