Bonfire night in Wigan: Firefighters attend dozens of incidents across the borough

Firefighters were called to reports of an explosion last night after revellers threw gas cylinders onto a bonfire.
Dozens of bonfire incidents were reported across the boroughDozens of bonfire incidents were reported across the borough
Dozens of bonfire incidents were reported across the borough

Crews were called to around 40 fires last night as people celebrated bonfire night across the borough.

Wigan, Hindley, Atherton and Leigh firefighters have commended people for their conduct on the whole but highlighted a number of potentially dangerous incidents which could have resulted in serious harm.

Wigan:

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During the evening, Wigan firefighters were called to reports of an explosion at a community bonfire in Aspull.

When crews arrived they noticed that someone had thrown gas cylinders onto the flames, causing a "minor" explosion.

"It was big enough to bring people out of their houses," said Glyn McGann, watch manager for Wigan.

"We managed to cool it and remove them. We should count ourselves lucky no one was hurt.

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"We removed the cylinders so that no one could throw them back on."

Later that evening, firefighters were called to reports of a garden shed on fire in Aspull.

On arrival they discovered that a stray firework had set fire to a family's back garden.

"It was really unlucky," said watch manager McGann. "The family were just minding their own business watching TV.

"It was really unfortunate for them."

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Crews managed to fight the flames, which caused significant damage to the shed and back garden of the home.

"As far as we are aware there were no serious injuries from incidents last night," added the watch manager McGann. "There were also no incidents of aggression.

"We do have to count ourselves lucky."

Leigh:

In Leigh, firefighters were called to a bonfire which had been left unattended.

One crew member described how people had rallied round to celebrate the evening with a community bonfire on Bridgewater Industrial Estate.

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"They just decided it was home time and left it merrily burning," said the firefighter. "To their credit they had tidied up before they left but they did just leave the bonfire going."

In the aftermath of November 5, firefighters are urging people to stay away from any bonfires which continue to burn and not to fuel the flames by throwing debris on.

In order to avoid flooding areas of land, crews will leave the fires to smoulder until they are completely extinguished unless flames become out of control.

Anyone wishing to report a fire should contact the emergency services on 999.