Bombardier Belfast Resumes Work After Fire

Bombardier employees have returned to work at the company’s manufacturing plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following a “significant” fire at the facility on Sunday evening. According to Bombardier, the fire damaged some machinery and a section of the roof but did not affect any aircraft structures or aerostructure assembly lines. No injuries were reported and safety inspections were completed prior to employees resuming work at the factory on Monday.

“Thanks to the incredible work of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, along with our security, health and safety and operations teams, as well as strict safety protocols and fire prevention infrastructure within our buildings, yesterday’s fire was contained within one area of the factory,” Bombardier said. “We will work with our customers and suppliers to address any production concerns, however we are confident there will be minimal impact to customer deliveries.”

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement that the fire appeared to have “started in machinery,” although the exact cause is still under investigation. Operations conducted at Bombardier’s Belfast facility include Bombardier business jet fuselage production, wing production for the Airbus A220, composite and metallic aerostructures engineering and administration. Bombardier Belfast employees around 3,600 people.