Residents angry over lack of bonfire compensation
Residents whose homes were damaged by an Eleventh Night bonfire have been left angry by the lack of compensation to pay for repairs one week on.
An apartment block near Sandy Row in south Belfast had its windows cracked by the heat and also suffered smoke damage.
“Coming out of your home on a ninth or tenth storey, less than a month after Grenfell, and seeing the Fire Brigade running upstairs with hoses and sandbags is a terrifying experience – and not one residents should have to put up with,” one resident told UTV.
Firefighters had to take up positions both on the ground and on top of the building to douse it with jets of water in a bid to protect it from the flames.
However, those living there have been left to pick up the repair bill.
The Northern Ireland Office and Belfast City Council have both said that they do not operate bonfire compensation schemes.
The NIO said in a statement that the issue of bonfires is “complex” and often involves a number of organisations operating within the devolved administration, such as the council and land owner.
The council added: “The council works with a range of partner agencies and communities to mitigate the most negative impacts of bonfires, but it has no role in relation to the bonfire itself.”
The responses have left the residents in limbo – and trying to get some more answers at a meeting on Wednesday evening.
Residents who spoke to UTV say they are not opposed to bonfires or cultural activities surrounding them, but they just want their families to be safe in their own homes.
