Busy Bonfire Night but no real trouble

busy but they told the Courier that there had been no serious incidents of disorder in the region.

In the east of Scotland there were 60 bonfires, with 270 calls made to the fire service, and over 350 bonfires were reported nationally.

Initial figures indicate that fire crews responded to approximately 359 bonfires across the country between 3.30pm and 11.30pm on November 5. The service handled 882 calls from members of the public.

There were six attacks on crews but no firefighters were seriously injured.

Assistant Chief Officer John 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 dayto-day.

“Our front line crews and operations control personnel and support staff have shown extreme dedication over this period.

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

Firefighters were attacked six times in the course of attending 665 incidents on Bonfire Night.

Mr Dickie said: “Any number of attacks on emergenc y 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 s e r v i c e c o l l e a g u e s, including the police when they have to escort us at the scene.

“We would like to thank our partners and the clear majority of the law-abiding public for their support and we hope that they had a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night.”