Three residents were trapped in their apartment building by a fire after a mattress was set alight in a suspected arson incident in Ballymena.
A 32-year-old man was arrested in connection with the fire as well as an attempted burglary in the same block of flats and a shop burglary which took place earlier on Wednesday night.
A police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, 4th December at approximately 11.10pm police received a report of a burglary at commercial premises in the Wellington Street area of the town.”
“An unknown man was discovered in the storeroom area of the shop, and made off on foot when the alarm was raised.
”It’s understood the suspect smashed a window in order to gain entry to the storeroom, and stole a mobile phone belonging to a staff member.”
Police then received a second report of rustling sounds in a flat hallway in the Drumtara area of the town just before midnight.
“A man was located attempting to steal a television and was challenged by the reporting person,” the spokesperson said.
“The suspect made off and is understood to have then tried to access other properties in the building before leaving empty handed.”
Around 25 minutes later, police received a report of a fire in a hallway in the block of flats while they were making enquiries in the area.
“Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the blaze which is believed to have been started after a mattress was set alight in a storeroom,” they said.
“Three residents were trapped in their flats throughout the duration of the fire and were unable to leave due to the amount of smoke.”
Police say no serious injuries were reported in the incident, which they are treating as arson with intent to danger life.
“We could have been dealing with much more serious consequences today,” the spokesperson said.
The suspect was located nearby and arrested on suspicion of threats to damage property, attempted burglary and arson endangering life with intent – he remains in custody.
Police are appealing to anyone who may be able to assist with their investigation to contact them on 101, quoting reference 17 05/12/24.
