Fire crews attacked on Bonfire Fight

Several fire crews were attacked as they dealt with more than 350 bonfires on their busiest night of the year.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service handled 882 calls from members of the public during the late afternoon and evening of November 5.

Fire crews responded to around 359 bonfires between 3.30pm and 11.30pm on Tuesday, November 5.

Crews also reported being attacked six times over the course of the night but no firefighters were seriously injured.

Assistant Chief Officer John Dickie, SFRS director of response and resilience, condemned the attacks on crews.

He said: "Any number of attacks on emergency service responders is completely unacceptable.

"This type of behaviour not only prevents our crews from bringing any emergency to a safe and swift conclusion but it can impact on our emergency service colleagues including the police when they have to escort us at the scene."

SFRS had appealed to people to attend organised events rather than "do-it-yourself fireworks displays'' or illegal bonfires.

Assistant Chief Officer Dickie said: "Bonfire Night is our busiest night of the year by far, and indeed it tops off one of our busiest four-week periods in the year.

"In addition to attending the numerous deliberate fires and bonfires, our firefighters continued to respond to the full range of emergencies we face day-to-day.

"Our frontline crews and Operations Control personnel and support staff have shown extreme dedication over this period and I would like to pay tribute to their professionalism, skill and hard work which enabled them to help protect communities.

"In addition, I must thank our partners and indeed communities across Scotland for their assistance and support."

Firefighters dealt with an overall estimated total of 665 incidents over the course of the night.

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