Firefighters responded to an additional 25 incidents of deliberately set fires across Merseyside on Bonfire Night, Tuesday 5th November, than on the same date last year, and deliberate fires throughout the entirety of the bonfire period (19th October – 5th November) also saw an increase.
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) attended 49 deliberately set ASB (anti-social behaviour fires – this includes bonfires, wheelie bin and rubbish fires – between 00:00 hours and 23.59 hours on Bonfire Night, as opposed to 24 on 5th November 2023.
Of the 49 ASB fires attended, 29 of these were potentially dangerous Bonfires, this is an increase on last year where 6 were attended.
On Tuesday 5th November, in areas covered by MFRS – Knowsley and Wirral saw a reduction in deliberately set fires. Liverpool, Sefton, and St Helens, saw an increase.
Wirral saw a decrease of 3 incidents – from 8 to 5 fires. Knowsley saw a reduction from 6 to 5 fires. Liverpool saw an increase of 21 fires – from 6 to 27, St Helens saw an increase of 3 – from 1 to 4 and finally Sefton saw an increase of 5 fires – from 3 to 8.
Liverpool saw the highest number of such bonfires – with fire crews attending 14 within the area. Firefighters attended 4 bonfires in Sefton, Knowsley, and St Helens respectively, and 3 in Wirral.
Crews attended the same number of incidents related to the misuse of fireworks, 3, as last year – on 5th November 2024. Throughout the entirety of the bonfire period (19th October – 5th November), crews attended an additional 6 firework incidents, with a total of 16 incidents attended against 10 for the same period the previous year.
Throughout the whole bonfire period, firefighters attended 312 deliberately set fires, whereas last year they attended 142.
In total, Fire Control received 285 emergency 999 calls on 5th November in 2024, an increase of 51.6% from 2023’s figure of 188. Throughout the entire period, Fire Control received 1,379 emergency 999 calls – up 25.5% from 2023’s figure of 1,099.
Group Manager for Community Safety, Mark Sopp, said:
“We are pleased to see that the majority of people across Merseyside enjoyed a safe Bonfire Night. Whilst we did see an increase in the number of deliberate fires on 5th November itself, the majority of these fires were small scale unlicensed community bonfires.
“Overall, we saw a reduction in ASB throughout the bonfire period and this is undoubtedly down to the work the Service and partner organisations have done during this period. I would like to thank all staff at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service that have been involved during the period, with our Control staff doing a fantastic job handling calls throughout.
“What is concerning is the number of firework incidents we have seen this year – 16 across Merseyside. These incidents are mainly attributed to smaller pockets of ASB and this behaviour is totally unacceptable.
“Playing with fireworks may seem like a laugh or a bit of fun but this kind of behaviour has very serious consequences. Whilst we are lucky that no one has been seriously injured as a result of these incidents, they could have very easily resulted in someone needing hospital care.
“Unfortunately, we have also seen an increase in the number of attacks on our staff. We work extensively with schools to reduce this kind of behaviour and would like to thank them and parents for discussing consequences with young people.
“There was still a small minority of the community that chose to attack the very people who are trying to keep them safe. Sadly, 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 do not deserve to be attacked for simply doing their job.”
GM Sopp added: “On 5th November, we take a tolerant view of bonfires - if they are in the open, supervised by adults and under control we do not extinguish them. Those bonfires we attended and put out on Tuesday - included in our statistics - were all considered to be dangerous. We would ask members of the community to be mindful of the proximity of bonfires to houses and the dangers they pose.
“The bonfire period is always extremely busy for us as a Service, though extensive advance planning and partnership work with Merseyside Police, local authorities, registered housing providers and other community partners mean we are able to keep the number of incidents down.
“In recent weeks, firefighters and the prevention team have been out with our partners in communities clearing away more than 100 tonnes of hazardous rubbish and fly-tipping, which could have been used as fuel for fires, and promoting the safe storage of wheelie bins to help prevent them becoming targets for arson.
“We are thankful to our communities for taking on board our safety messages and advice, and for their support throughout this period.”
As we move into winter, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service urges everyone to make sure they have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of their home and to ensure it is tested regularly.
For free fire safety advice or to request a home fire safety check, call 0800 731 5958. You can also complete a free online home fire safety check at https://www.safelincs.co.uk/hfsc/?ref=MRSFRS
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service also provides free smoke alarms for Merseyside residents aged 65 or over.
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Note to editors:
Total 999 calls received by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service on Tuesday 5th November (00:00 Sat 5th – 23:59 Sat 5th):
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Total 999 calls received by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service between 19th October – 5th November
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|
||||||
|
Total 999 Calls Received |
||||||
|
2023 |
2024 |
Difference |
Percentage Difference |
|||
|
Total |
1099 |
1379 |
280 |
25.5% |
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A full and inclusive breakdown of all deliberately set fire incidents attended by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service on Tuesday 5th November is detailed below:
|
All Deliberate Fires |
||||
|
District |
2023 |
2024 |
Difference |
Percentage Difference |
|
Knowsley |
6 |
5 |
-1 |
-16.7% |
|
Liverpool |
6 |
27 |
21 |
350.0% |
|
Sefton |
3 |
8 |
5 |
166.7% |
|
St Helens |
1 |
4 |
3 |
300.0% |
|
Wirral |
8 |
5 |
-3 |
-37.5% |
|
Grand Total |
24 |
49 |
25 |
104.2% |
Breakdown of all deliberately set fires attended by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service over the entire bonfire period (19th October – 5th November)
|
All Deliberate Fires |
||||
|
District |
2023 |
2024 |
Difference |
Percentage Difference |
|
Knowsley |
26 |
37 |
11 |
42.3% |
|
Liverpool |
47 |
139 |
92 |
195.7% |
|
Sefton |
21 |
38 |
17 |
81.0% |
|
St Helens |
25 |
36 |
11 |
44.0% |
|
Wirral |
23 |
62 |
39 |
169.6% |
|
Grand Total |
142 |
312 |
170 |
119.7% |
The numbers of incidents attended by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service on Tuesday, 5th November specifically relating only to bonfires is given below. These figures are included as part of the full breakdown of incidents, detailed above:
|
Bonfires Only |
||||
|
District |
2023 |
2024 |
Difference |
Percentage Difference |
|
Knowsley |
2 |
4 |
2 |
100.0% |
|
Liverpool |
1 |
14 |
13 |
1300.0% |
|
Sefton |
1 |
4 |
3 |
300.0% |
|
St Helens |
0 |
4 |
4 |
N/A |
|
Wirral |
2 |
3 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
Grand Total |
6 |
29 |
23 |
383.3% |