Firefighters attacked as 'dangerous' bonfires were extinguished across the region

A borough of Merseyside had the most ‘anti-social’ bonfires this year

General image of a bonfire(Image: SHARED CONTENT UNIT)

Firefighters were attacked when called to “dangerous” bonfires in the region on Bonfire Night. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said on November 5 that it has a “tolerant view of bonfires” and that any fires under adult supervision will not be extinguished.

However, the fire service said deliberate fires, all of which were considered dangerous, were more frequent during the bonfire period than last year, and the number of 999 calls had increased by more than 50%.

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Crews attended 49 reports of deliberately lit fires in the region during Bonfire Night, Tuesday, November 5, compared to 24 in 2023. Of the 49 fires attended, 29 were potentially dangerous bonfires. Intentional fires throughout the bonfire period, October 19 to November 5, also saw an increase, from 142 to 312.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) attended 49 deliberately lit ‘anti-social behaviour’ fires – including bonfires, skip bins and rubbish fires – on Bonfire Night this year. Liverpool saw the biggest increase in Bonfire Night reports, from just six last year to 26. Saint Helens the number of reports increased from one to four Sefton the number of reports increased from three to eight.

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Wirral fire reports dropped from eight to five, and Knowsley dropped from six to five. Liverpool saw the highest number of ‘anti-social’ bonfires – with fourteen firefighters in the area. Firefighters attended four bonfires in Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens respectively, and three in Wirral.

Incidents of fireworks misuse remained the same as last year, with three reports on November 5. Throughout the bonfire period, crews attended 16 incidents of fireworks misuse, compared to 10 last year.

In total, on November 5, 2024, Fire Control received 285 emergency 999 calls, an increase of 51.6% compared to 188 in 2023. During the entire period, Fire Control received 1,379 emergency 999 calls – an increase of 25.5% compared to 1,099 by 2023.

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Group Manager for Community Safety, Mark Sopp, said: “We are pleased to see that the majority of people in Merseyside enjoyed a safe Bonfire Night. Although we saw an increase in the number of deliberate fires on November 5 itself, most of these fires were small-scale, unlicensed community fires.

“Overall we saw a reduction in ASB during the bonfire period and this is undoubtedly down to the work the Service and partner organizations have done during this period. I would like to thank all the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service staff involved during the period, with our control officers doing a fantastic job handling calls throughout.

“What is worrying is the number of fireworks incidents we have seen this year – 16 on Merseyside. These incidents are mainly attributed to smaller groups of ASB and this behavior is completely unacceptable.

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“Playing with fireworks may seem like a joke or a bit of fun, but this type of behavior has very serious consequences. While we are fortunate that no one was seriously injured as a result of these incidents, they could very easily have resulted in someone needing hospital care.

“Unfortunately, we are also seeing an increase in the number of attacks on our staff. We work intensively with schools to reduce this type of behavior and would like to thank them and parents for discussing the consequences with young people.

“There was still a small minority of the community who chose to attack the very people who were trying to protect them. Unfortunately, this is not specific to Merseyside and has been experienced by fire and rescue services across the country. Firefighters and support staff are not targets; they are members of your community who go above and beyond every day to keep you safe. They don’t deserve to be attacked for simply doing their job.”

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He added: “On November 5, we will be tolerant of bonfires – if they take place in the open, under adult supervision and under control, we will not extinguish them. The bonfires we attended and extinguished on Tuesday – included in our statistics – were all considered dangerous. We ask community members to consider the proximity of bonfires to homes and the dangers they pose.

“The bonfire period is always extremely busy for us as a service, although extensive advance planning and collaboration with Merseyside Police, local authorities, registered housing providers and other community partners means we can keep the number of incidents low.

“In recent weeks, firefighters and the prevention team have been working with our partners in communities to clear more than 100 tonnes of hazardous waste and fly-tipping, which could have been used as fuel for fires, and to promote the safe storage of wheelie bins . to prevent them from becoming targets for arson. We are grateful to our communities for adopting our safety messages and advice, and for their support during this period.”

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Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service is urging everyone to ensure there is at least one working smoke alarm on each floor of the home and that it is tested regularly. For free fire safety advice or to request a fire safety check for your home, call 0800 731 5958 or visit www.safelincs.co.uk.