Eleventh Night Bonfires: Fire crews respond to 35 incidents
Last updated 12th Jul 2022
Fire crews responded to 35 bonfire incidents across Northern Ireland last night (Monday).
That represented a 12.5% decrease on last year's Eleventh Night total.
The Fire and Rescue Service said it had received 203 emergency calls overall and responded to 98 "operational incidents."
A spokesperson said: "“During this period we attended 35 bonfire related incidents. This represents a 12.5% decrease in bonfire incidents during the same timeframe in 2021.
“Peak activity was between 11pm and 1am.
“NIFRS maintained normal emergency response throughout the evening, attending a range of operational incidents including special service calls, a road traffic collision and other emergencies.”
The Eleventh Night is traditionally the PSNI's second busiest and most resource-intensive day of the year - with the Twelfth Night being their busiest.
Earlier in the night, PSNI said there will be 2,500 police officers on duty on the Twelfth, which is around a third of the strength of the PSNI.
There will be 573 loyal order parades later. Of these, 33 follow routes that are deemed to be sensitive.
Monday night saw crowds gather across Northern Ireland to watch the towering pyres being set alight in loyalist areas, with the largest Eleventh Night bonfire taking place at the Craigyhill estate in Larne, Co Antrim (main pic plus video below).
But before the fires were lit, police said that they were investigating multiple reports of flags, effigies and election posters being placed on bonfires.
Hundreds of people watched on as the Craigyhill bonfire was lit at midnight with organisers confident that they had broken the world record for the tallest bonfire, after the pyre was measured at 202.3ft.
Nearby houses had their windows boarded up and the fire service hosed down properties to protect against the heat of the massive bonfire.
The build-up to the Eleventh Night celebrations was overshadowed by the death of a bonfire builder in Co Antrim on Saturday night.
John Steele, a window cleaner who was aged in his mid-30s, was killed when he fell from a separate bonfire in Larne that stood more than 50 feet tall.
In total more than 250 bonfires were constructed in loyalist neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland.
One of these was at Edgarstown in Portadown where last year the bonfire collapsed onto the road.
Last month the fire was set alight prematurely with the PSNI branding the incident arson.
Eleventh Night Bonfires In Pics ⬇️
The Craigyhill bonfire which is claiming a new world record on July 11, 2022 in Larne, Northern Ireland.
Firemen hosed down nearby properties to keep the exteriors cool and prevent them from catching fire.
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