Concerns raised after another blaze at former Glen Stores
ACTION DEMANDED ON DERELICT BUILDING AFTER LATEST BLAZE
RESIDENTS of three large estates on the northside of the town are demanding immediate action on a derelict building, after a fire last week halted traffic in or out of their homes for almost three hours.
It’s the latest in a string of incidents in the former Glen Stores on Flaxmill Lane, with those living in Newfield, Bally Park and Forest Hill now calling for Louth County Council to step in.
The road is the only access for hundreds of houses, and the constant closing off of the road due to the fires is causing major disruption, not to mention safety concerns for people in the area.
Gardai are currently investigating the cause of the blaze, and it is thought to have been malicious.
‘Enough is enough,’ local Mattie Donnelly told the Drogheda Independent at the scene of the fire.
‘ This is the third or fourth fire at the building since Christmas, and our fear is someone is going to get badly injured.’
Mattie said he has contacted the council a number of times, and was assured something would be done, but to no avail.
‘It seems I’m talking to myself. There are kids in and out of the back of the shops all the time, and I wonder are the council waiting for someone to be injured in a fire before they do something,’ he adds.
Another motorist who didn’t want to be identified, couldn’t get out for Newfield for a few hours, and was concerned about her baby, who was at her mother’s house.
‘ The gardai are telling me to turn around and take another exit out of the estate, but there is only one way in or out for us all in cars’, she said angrily.
‘I know it’s not the fire brigade’s fault, but it’s so annoying that we are stuck here now because of what is happening in the old shops.’
The Glen Stores and a neighbouring building, have been empty since they were bought by developer Eugene O’Connor with a view to building apartments.
However, that never proceeded, and they have been the location of a series of fires and antisocial behavior ever since.
Drogheda Fire Service confirmed they were contacted at 4.40pm on Sunday March 18th and three units attended the blaze for almost three hours.
‘At this stage, they need to be demolished, or something,’ added another Newfield resident with Mattie at the scene. ‘Look at the chaos it causes - motorists trapped in three estates - with the only route blocked.’ It’s time something was done.’