Investigation launched after Sheffield Cathedral 'targeted' in arson attack

Fire crews were called to Sheffield Cathedral on Church Street at around 6pm on Thursday after a 40-year-old woman allegedly set fire to the Domino Hall after smashing a window to gain entrance.

The suspect, from Sheffield, was arrested close to the scene on suspicion of arson and burglary after police arrived at around 6.30pm. She remains in custody today (May 15). Police confirmed nobody was injured in the incident.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus took around 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze and prevent it spreading further. They remained on the scene to clear smoke from the building until around 10pm. The fire service is now assisting police with their investigation.

Sheffield Cathedral is one of only five Grade I Listed Building in the city. The Domino Hall is the largest room in the 900-year-old building and is used as an event space for up to 150 people.

Reverend Keith Farrow from Sheffield Cathedral said: “The fire started in the Domino Hall and it doesn’t look like there’s been huge, extensive damage.

“There’s been quite a lot of smoke and smoke damage in that area.”

The Cathedral is currently closed to the public because of coronavirus but the Cathedral Archer Project, which is based at the rear of the building on Campo lane, has remained open throughout lockdown.

The Cathedral Archer Project works with homeless and vulnerable people in Sheffield to help them find ways out of homelessness and exclusion. Last month it put out an emergency appeal for donations to allow them to continue their work.

Reverend Farrow added: “Everyone seems to be safe, nobody is injured. But clearly it’s affected the very heart of the Cathedral Archer Project.

“We want to pray for the work that might be affected in the Cathedral Archer Project at this particularly difficult time.”

The cost of the damage is not yet known. The Star has contacted the Cathedral Archer Project for comment.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “An investigation is underway after a suspected arson attack at Sheffield cathedral last night (May 14).

“It’s understood that someone had gained to the cathedral through breaking a window, and set fire to one of the rooms.

“A 40-year-old woman from Sheffield was arrested nearby on suspicion of arson and burglary. She remains in police custody.

"Nobody was injured in the incident."

A South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue spokerperson added: “Firefighters from Central and Rivelin were called to a fire at the Sheffield Cathedral, on Church Street in the city centre, at 6pm yesterday (May 14).

“Upon arrival they found smoke issuing from a community room that is connected to the cathedral. Breathing apparatus wearers immediately gained access and had extinguished the fire itself by 6.41pm – preventing any further spread.

“The crews remained on scene for some time after the fire was out clearing smoke from the building. There are no reports of any injuries and firefighters eventually left the scene at around 10pm.

“A joint investigation between the police and fire service is now underway.”

---------------------------

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor