Small fire at May Street data centre disrupts internet in Belfast
June 2015Published 2 Oct 2026
What happened
On 24 June 2015 a small fire at a key British Telecom building in May Street, Belfast, described in the report as a BT data centre, was followed by widespread internet disruption across Northern Ireland. Firefighters were at the scene in May Street. The cause, any injuries, and how long services were affected were not reported.
Contributing factors
Not reported.
Lessons learned
- A small fire at a communications building can disrupt internet services across a wide area.
- Operators should be able to isolate a fire and keep essential connectivity on other routes.
- Early public updates should say what is known about the fire and service impact, and what is not yet known.
Source
Published 2026-10-02. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.