A man in his 40s was arrested for questioning yesterday in connection with an arson attack which caused tens of thousands of euro worth of damage to the headquarters of the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Cork city.
The man was arrested shortly after 2pm yesterday and taken to district headquarters in Togher, Cork, for questioning in relation to a blaze at the Farm Centre on the Victoria Cross Road in Dennehy's Cross, Cork city. The fire broke out shortly after 11.20pm on Saturday.
Two passers-by told gardaí that they saw a man push an unidentified object through the letter box of the building. Within seconds, boxes inside the door were on fire, with the blaze spreading to the reception area. The building was empty and no one was injured.
Cork city fire services' third officer, Edward Buckley, said the entrance to the four-storey building was considerably damaged, while the rest of the building incurred smoke damage.
"There is quite a lot of fire damage where the fire originated itself, but it was confined to the ground floor and the reception area. The fire was under control within about 20 minutes but the whole operation took us about an hour and a half to make sure it was under control and safe. Presently, the gardaí are carrying out their own investigation and we are doing an investigation ourselves."
The fire is being treated as suspicious. The scene was preserved for a technical examination. The HSE will conduct its own internal investigation.
HSE management were at the scene yesterday assessing the impact the blaze would have on services and staff at the site. There are 190 workers in the HSE building, which consists primarily of office space.
A spokesman for the HSE South said the building would remain closed today for cleaning and repair work.
Anyone with information about the blaze is asked to contact gardaí in Bishopstown, Cork, on 021-4541012.