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 British province following the killings of two soldiers and a policeman.
Ten fire engines were rushed to the blaze at the 150-year-old building, which has been disused for a decade.
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.
Gilligan, who bought the courthouse for one pound and planned to invest 25 million pounds in the building, said he was shocked by the news, and did not know how the fire started.
"I am totally devastated," he said, vowing that the building would survive.
"I have have been making strenuous efforts to bring this building back into some sort of life... This building will still be a jewel in the crown of this city," he said.
The blaze erupted as a memorial service was held for two British soldiers who died at the weekend, and ahead of the funeral Friday of a policeman shot dead by Republican dissidents on Monday.
Leaders in Belfast, Dublin and London have vowed there will be no return to the violence of the Troubles. On Wednesday, thousands of people took part in peace vigils across the province.
The Crumlin Road 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 linked by tunnels 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
