A massive fire which swept through a listed building in the centre of Belfast last week was started deliberately, the PSNI said today.
Millions of pounds of damage was caused by the blaze at the landmark Queen's Building on Royal Avenue. Forensic scientists were delayed for days in their attempts to comb through the burned-out four-storey structure because it was too unsafe.
But investigators have now gone into the 120-year-old building whose future was threatened by the city's biggest fire in years.
More than 120 firefighters battled for over 15 hours to halt the blaze after it broke out on the top floor last Thursday.
A stretch of the main shopping district in Belfast's commercial district was closed off amid frantic efforts to bring it under control.
A Waterstones bookstore, a jewellers and the Belfast bureau of the Press Association news agency that were in the building were gutted.
As well as smoke and flame damage, water also flooded down through the floors, ruining thousands of books and wiping out other valuable stock.
Conservationists also feared the Victorian building, built in 1883, would have to be demolished. City council surveyors' initial assessment was that it would survive, despite major structural damage, but a more detailed report is expected.
PA