A ROW of terraced houses caught fire close to one of the huge loyalist bonfires lit to usher in the main date of the parading season.
Two homes adjacent to the Hopewell Square bonfire in Belfast's Shankill Road were gutted when a blaze broke out on the roofs of the terrace at around 1am on Tuesday. At least one other house was damaged.
It is suspected that hot bonfire embers were blown on to the roofs by the wind.
A crowdfunding appeal is seeking £2,000 to help the Shankill families whose homes and belongings were engulfed in fire. It has already raised more than £500.
Organiser Stephen Paul said: "It's times like this that we need to pull together as a community to show our support for these families."
Shocked eyewitnesses told how the roofs started smouldering before caving in.
Nathan Gray, who was attending the bonfire, described the scene as "crazy".
"It kicked off about one o'clock in the morning, everyone was watching the bonfire and the next thing a lot of smoke was coming from the roofs beside it," he told the BBC.
"People were starting to get moved from their houses. A man climbed through his living room window to get out."
The total number of call-outs received by the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) overnight was up on last year.
Of the 123 calls between 9pm and 1am, 42 were bonfire-related. At 16 of those callouts, firefighters had to actively intervene.
As well as Belfast, fire crews attended bonfire-related incidents in Bangor, Coleraine, Banbridge, Rathfriland, Dungannon, Derry City, Portadown, Ballyhalbert and Limavady.
The NIFRS said there were no reports of any crews being attacked.
The Fire Service said there were no reports of any crews being attacked.
In east Belfast, fire crews also moved in to dampen down buildings next to a bonfire that was built on the road at the entrance to Cluan Place, off Albertbridge Road.
There was visible damage to the road yesterday morning.
Environmental concerns have also been raised about the burning of hundreds of tyres at several locations.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency said it has issued five £300 fines over dumping at bonfires in the past two months.
Tackling bonfire-related incidents between 2010 and 2015 cost the Fire Service almost £670,000.
Figures show a controversial bonfire site beside Belfast City Hospital has been most frequently attended by fire crews.
Last year, homes near Chobham Street in east Belfast had to be evacuated over fears that a giant nearby bonfire could topple on to property.
The lighting of the towering bonfires, most built with stacks of wooden pallets, drew thousands of onlookers, but the structures were again the source of controversy, despite the efforts of organisers to improve their image.
There were complaints of the burning of Sinn Fein election posters made for May's Stormont Assembly poll as well as the use of toxic tyres.
In recent years, bonfire builders have faced criticism after items such as Irish flags and posters, and effigies of high-profile politicians - were placed on top of some of the fires and torched.
Last year, homes near Chobham Street in east Belfast had to be evacuated over fears that the giant nearby bonfire could topple on to property.
