In an act of staggering stupidity, a group of young men lit two fires at the Glen Filling Station on the Ballyclare Road in the early hours of Friday (August 3) morning.
Sandra Burns, licensee of the business, has appealed for anyone who can help identify the culprits to come forward. She described their actions as "absolutely unbelievable", warning that the consequences could have been catastrophic for people living in the nearby Queen's Park estate and businesses in Northcott Shopping Centre located just yards away.
A number of individuals can be observed on the forecourt CCTV system getting out of a taxi shortly before 12.45am on Friday and setting fire to two bins - one next to the main petrol pump and the other at the door of the shop.
In an apparent moment of clarity, one of the individuals can been seen returning to the forecourt a few minutes later and dragging the burning bin away from the petrol pump.
The bins, which were left burning near the entrance to the service station, were destroyed and will have to be replaced, but Mrs Burns stressed that the consequences of such a mindless act could have been so much more serious.
"Luckily the fire didn't spread. We had 31,000 litres of fuel in the tanks on Thursday night. If that had gone up there'd have been very little left of this part of Glengormley.
"Do these idiots realise the possible consequences of what they are doing? If the place had gone up in smoke there'd have been very little left of Queen's Park.
"Maybe someone saw who it was or knows who it was and will be able to come forward and identify them. What they did is absolutely unbelievable. It could have led to considerable loss of life," she said.
A spokesperson for Glengormley Police appealed for anyone with information about the arson attack to contact them.
"Police have obtained CCTV footage from the premises and this is currently being examined to determine the circumstances of this incident and to establish the identity of the persons involved," she commented.