Fire crew assaulted by invader
A MAN jumped into a fire engine to take a selfie – then assaulted firefighters when they asked him to get out.
Crews were dealing with a blaze at a house on Railway Terrace North, New Herrington, Houghton-le-Spring, and it was feared people were trapped inside.
But that didn’t stop Clinton Allan Barnes – who lives on the street – jumping into the engine to take a photo of himself.
The thug assaulted firefighters when they disrupted his photo opportunity, putting first responders and vehicles out of action and potentially putting lives at risk, a court heard.
Despite his actions, the 34-year-old was spared jail after pleading guilty to three counts of assault by beating at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecutor Glenda Back told the court how firefighters were called to Railway Terrace North on April 5.
While officers piled in to search the burning building – finding no casualties – Barnes saw his opportunity for a selfie.
As they emerged from the smokefilled shell, they were informed by a colleague that a male had climbed into a fire engine.
When they got to the vehicle, Barnes had left – only to get into another response vehicle, a smaller van, and sit in the driver’s seat.
Firefighters asked him to get out but Barnes became verbally abusive and only left when it was pointed out to him the incident was being recorded on the vehicle’s CCTV system, the court heard. Barnes told the concerned firefighters: “Here man, I’m only trying to get a photo for the bairn” before headbutting one and punching another in the side of the head.
Crews battled to pin him down until police arrived but Barnes kept fighting, magistrates were told, busting the nose of another officer.
In a statement read to the court, Alan Robson, deputy chief fire officer for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said Barnes’s actions could have endangered lives if there had been another call-out in the area.
He said: “Attacks on the fire service are increasing, both verbal and physical, and include things like missiles being thrown. This is the most serious the fire authority has had in 20 years.
“The effect on the firefighters involved has been physical and psychological.
“This incident caused the appliance covering that area to be unavailable for fire cover, putting our resources under even more strain throughout the area.
“Community engagement had to cease in that area, such as doing fire checks in the homes of the most vulnerable.”
Mr Robson also detailed the effect on the firefighters and their families, including the wife of one of the officers involved suffering from serious anxiety every time her partner goes to work. Barnes’s solicitor, Ian Jordan, said: “The aggravating factors in this offence are clear to see.
“It’s a hard enough job without this sort of disruption.”
He outlined his client’s history of mental illness and alcoholism and said he had expressed remorse over the assaults.
Magistrates handed Barnes an 11-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to pay £350 in compensation in total to the firefighters he attacked.
He was also instructed to pay a victim surcharge of £115.