Fire broke out Thursday at an historic court house in Belfast, linked to key trials in Northern Ireland's troubled past, emergency services said.
It was unclear how the fire started at the Crumlin Road Courthouse in north Belfast, but it comes amid heightened tensions in the province following the killings of two soldiers and a policeman.
The court was the venue for some of the most celebrated IRA and loyalist cases in the last 30 years. During many of the most controversial hearings, judges wore bullet proof vests and were guarded by armed officers.
The courthouse is currently owned by the vice chairman of the Northern Ireland policing board Barry Gilligan, who has planned to convert it into a five-star hotel retaining all the key features of the Victorian building.
The courthouse is linked by tunnel beneath the main Crumlin Road to Crumlin Road jail which housed thousands of loyalists and Republicans during trials.
The jail itself has been refurbished and is now one of the main tourist attractions in Belfast.
Copyright 2009 AFP European Edition
