West Tyrone Ulster Unionist MLA Ross Hussey has expressed his shock and sadness at the fire which broke out late last night (Friday) and caused extensive damage to Arvalee Special School in Omagh.
Mr Hussey said:
"I was shocked and saddened to learn of the damage caused to Arvalee School which is a major asset to the community in Omagh and throughout West Tyrone.
If indeed the fire was deliberate, then it is quite simply an unwarranted attack on some of most vulnerable people in our society. The pupils will have been looking forward to returning to school after the summer holidays and the disruption caused by this fire will cause unnecessary distress and anxiety for many of them.
I will be pressing the Education Minister and the Western Education & Library Board to ensure that everything possible is done to restore normality for the pupils as soon as possible.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the firefighters and other emergency service personnel who were engaged in dealing with this incident in such a prompt, efficient and professional manner."
Mr Hussey's comments were endorsed by his Party colleague Lesley Vennard who added:
"I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the vicinity of the school on the Deverney Road in Omagh late last night, to please contact the Police immediately. Any information however small could be vital to helping the Police establish exactly how this fire started."