Video 5

An interview with Detective Inspector Alogba

Do you believe this fire was a deliberate arson attack?

At this stage we can’t say with any degree of certainty whether it was an intentional fire or whether there’s been an accidental cause. We can’t rule out the possibility of arson and obviously the initial investigation will focus on trying to determine the exact cause whether that be accidental or intentional and gathering all necessary information that we need to be able to establish if anybody, who was responsible. And we’ll work in conjunction with the fire brigade, the investigation officers for that, along with our own crime scene examination unit and the local authority to determine exactly what the cause was.

So what stage is the investigation at, at the moment?

It’s an early stage at the moment. Unfortunately, because of the extent of the damage which, as you can see, is extensive, the floors have collapsed onto the lower levels, which means that potential evidence may well be buried underneath rubble and, as a result of that, we will have to develop a strategy to be able to get at the evidence underneath. And so, it’s probably going to be some considerable time before we can give a definite answer.

Is that a matter of weeks or…?

There is no way, at this stage, of me determining that. We haven’t spoken to the fire officers who were involved in the investigation and they can’t give me a definite answer as to the length of time they will take because of the scope and the extent to which the building has been damaged. And because at this stage we are still working on the actual safety of the building, we can’t even begin that investigation until we are happy that what’s left of the structure is safe and officers can then go in to determine exactly what is needed.

If anybody had any information about the incident, who should they contact?

In the first instance, if they could contact the CID at Stalybridge Police Station. The direct number for that would be 0161 856 9540. Or, if they prefer to remain anonymous, if they contacted Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and they can leave information there and an officer would come back to them or they can leave it there purely anonymously.

Thank you. That was great that. That was very useful actually.