Wigan borough firefighters tackled 30 Bonfire Night incidents within hours

It had been a quiet day for stations last Friday until about 5pm when night fell and then they experienced a "sudden surge".

Happily the vast majority of call-outs were inocuous, but they still kept crews extremely busy.

Hindley had the most bonfire and firework-related incidents at 10, followed by Wigan and Leigh which had eight each to attend while Atherton got off relatively lightly with four.

Watch manager at Hindley, Mark Anderson, said: "We had more than two dozen calls in just a three-hour period. It was crazy.

"Because so many official bonfires were cancelled again due to the pandemic a lot more people decided to hold their own.

"Most of the calls voiced concerns about these residential fires and the vast majority, when we turned up, were fine and safe. But we still had to log each one as an incident."

North West Fire Control (NWFC) received 701 calls between 5pm on Friday November 5 and 8am on Monday November 8, and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) responded to 431 incidents in total. This is an increase from last year, when firefighters attended 276 incidents.

While firefighters worked hard to keep the public safe, unfortunately some crews came under attack in other parts of the city region.

Chief Fire Officer Dave Russel said: “Our firefighters did a brilliant job keeping the public safe during bonfire celebrations this weekend. I’d like to thank all staff and emergency services involved for working hard over a busy weekend.

“Unfortunately, while attending some incidents, crews were met with physical or verbal abuse. I have heard personally from colleagues the shocking incidents that took place. Thankfully, no one was hurt, however I would like to remind the public that this behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Attacking emergency service workers is also a criminal offence.”

Just before 6pm on Friday November 5, crews attended an incident in Oldham on Arundel Street and were subject to an attack. Later that evening just after 11pm, firefighters from Blackley were attacked with fireworks on Ash Tree Road. Thankfully no crew members were hurt. Fireworks were also thrown at a fire engine when attending an incident in Manchester on Atlantic Walk at approximately 9pm on Friday.

Other incidents attended over the weekend included deliberate wheelie bin fires, and bonfires on parks and public land.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “GMFRS, alongside Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service and North West Fire Control did a fantastic job keeping Greater Manchester communities safe, particularly during this busy period of the year.

“I would like to thank the public for following the firework safety advice from the Bang Out of Order campaign and supporting the emergency services so they can help keep people safe.

“However, hearing that some crews and police were subject to attacks with fireworks is unacceptable. Our emergency workers work hard every day keeping the public safe and should not have to deal with abuse.”

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is running a firework amnesty. If you have any unused fireworks that you would like to dispose of safely please call us on 0800 555 815.

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