20-strong gang pelted firefighters with rockets on Bonfire Night

One incident saw a gang of around 20 youths surrounding a fire crew in a Keighley park and launching a barrage of fireworks at them.

A review of the Bonfire Period has been published by West Yorkshire Fire Service and reveals that in many areas there were fewer problems faced by emergency services at year’s event when compared to 2018 and 2017.

However there were still multiple incidents of attacks on emergency service workers and dozens of reports of arsons and out of control bonfires.

Members of West Yorkshire Fire Authority will discuss the review at a meeting on Friday.

The review gives details of nine attacks on firefighters between November 3 and November 5.

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Of these eight were on Bonfire Night, and seven of those took place in Bradford.

Incidents included:

6.27pm - Fireworks thrown at fire car in Victoria Park, Keighley

7.05pm - Firework thrown at fire engine in Keighley

8.06pm - Firecar staff came under attack by a group of about 20 youths firing rockets at them.

8.07pm - Fireworks were aimed at the fire appliance and crew members on Midland Road

8.25pm - Fire crews exiting a police van were “bombarded” by fireworks on Carlisle Road

10.14pm - Fire crews exiting a police van were bombarded by fireworks on Dracup Avenue

10.23pm - Fireworks thrown at firefighters and police in Lidget Green

In Leeds there was a major disturbance in Harehills just before 6pm when fireworks were pelted at firefighters responding to reports of a bonfire in a park.

Extra resources had been put in place to deal with the expected increase in nuisance fires over the Bonfire Period. This extra resource cost the taxpayer £31,955 - down from £52,362 last year.

But despite these incidents, the review points to a number of initiatives that helped ensure Bonfire Night 2019 was not as lawless as in other years.

There was a significant decrease in the number of incidents firefighters were called out to across West Yorkshire - a drop from 482 in 2018 to 270 in 2019.

Members will be told that there was a number of community initiatives to reduce anti-social behaviour during the period. In Bradford numerous schools were visited - with firefighters providing safety advice. A number of local mosques also came on board with awareness initiatives and delivered messages about Bonfire Safety and anti-social behaviour at Friday prayers. A working group was set-up early between police, the fire service, local Councillors and community volunteers.

On November 5 the group organised two events in the Bradford West. The report says: “The idea behind setting up the events was to attract local youths to attend and carry out activities such as football. This was a diversionary tactic which attracted a large number of youths.”

The review concludes: “This year is considered a success. The collaborative working with West Yorkshire Police, particularly in Bradford, prevented any repeat of the numbers of firefighter attacks that occurred in 2017.”