One firefighter was injured when debris exploded from the building. Sub Officer Alan Elliott said, "He was hit by flying asbestos. When it's involved in fire, it fragments. It's not the dangerous asbestos as such, it's corregated." Asbestos is only harmful in fine powder form. The firefighter was standing thirty feet away from the building when debris hit him, causing a minor head wound. The fire brigade do not yet know where or why the fire broke out. Omagh District Commander, Bobby Herbert, said, "We haven't ascertained yet because when we got here the second floor had already collapsed. It was impossible to find the origins of the fire. Obviously we're still investigating it." Sub officer Alan Elliott said, "We're not sure if it started on the top floor there (Pound Wizard) or the second floor of Yolande's".

    Three shops, Women's Aid, Pound Wizard and Yolande's Picture Framing Service were damaged in the blaze. Women's Aid and Pound Wizard are badly damaged by smoke and it was only because of the prompt arrival of fire brigade that Pound Wizard was not completely destroyed.

     The fire was quickly contained but the area was cordoned off until two o'clock. The large scale operation involved eight fire crews from Castlederg, Lisnaskea, Omagh, Clogher, Portadown, Enniskillen, Irvinestown and Fintona.

    Yolande's Picture Framing Service and Gallery still emitted fumes and smoke yesterday afternoon and firemen believe that part of the building is extremely unsafe and will have to be demolished. Enniskillen District Commander, Terry Morrison, deems it an unsafe structure and has asked Council Building Control to inspect it. St Michael's Church and St Macartin's Cathedral, although situated near the building, were unaffected by the blaze.

    Mrs Barbara Creighton owns the building that houses the three businesses. Her son in law, Mr Ciaran O'Hare, said, "She is obviously very disappointed, for her tenants more than herself. It's obviously traumatic for tenants." Mr O'Hare said that the owner of Yolande's was woken at six o'clock in the morning by an alarm, indicating that the premises had been broken into or was on fire. He went to the scene, expecting burglars, but was met with flames.