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Residents of Hosford House were made homeless again due to fire in the East Belfast Mission hostel.
A blaze broke out in Hosford House, East Belfast Mission’s homeless hostel on the Newtownards Road. The Fire and Rescue Service were called at about 5pm on Sunday. The building has sustained extensive smoke and water damage, but the fire officers did manage to stop the fire spreading to other properties.
Dave Newman, the Director of Hosford House said
“Hosford regularly houses 22 people who are experiencing homelessness. For a period of time Hosford is their home. This appears to be a tragic incident that thankfully did not result in the loss of life.”
One resident escaped the fire by jumping from an upper floor window, and was lucky to avoid serious injury.
Mark Houston, Mission Director said:
“We wish to thank the Fire Brigade, PSNI and Red Cross teams who dealt with the difficulties yesterday’s fire presented. And pay tribute to our Hosford House Staff who managed an immensely difficult situation with admirable courage and professionalism. They responded very professionally and all residents were evacuated from the premises safely.”
“Our staff team coped brilliantly in firstly ensuring the safety of the residents of Hosford House and secondly placing them safely in other accommodation, albeit temporarily. Unfortunately some residents were not able to be placed locally due to the lack of hostel places,” added Dave Newman.
The extent of the damage to Hosford House will be assessed by insurers and it is expected the facility will reopen as soon as repairs are made.
Even today, as the charred remains of Hosford’s rooms are being assessed by the joint management partners Oaklee Housing, past residents of Hosford House came to the Mission to see how they could help.
Hosford House has a very good health and safety record, this is the first fire they have had, and hopefully the last.
The remainder of EBM’s premises are unaffected and we are open for business as usual.
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