Revellers warned to stay away from unsafe illegal fires
Paisley firefighters are urging Bonfire Night revellers to stay safe by attending organised displays this weekend.
The Pa i s l e y Fi rework Spectacular will once again light up the night sky above the town tonight and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service say it’s the best way to enjoy the festivities.
They have asked homeowners to avoid private displays and illegal bonfires, which can pose serious safety risks.
Mark Gallacher, group manager for prevention and protection in Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, is calling for everyone to have a good time — but stay safe in the process.
He said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service can be up to four times busier than usual on Bonfire Night.
“There are many official bonfire events this year in Renfrewshire and attending one of these can help ensure our resources aren’t delayed.
Mr Gallacher also appealed for people to report any illegal bonfires, which he says take crews away from potentially-serious incidents.
He added: “Illegal bonfires needlessly take up our crews’ time and put others with genuine emergencies at risk.
“I would urge any member of the public who sees someone starting an illegal bonfire to contact Crimestoppers.
“Together, we can help each other stay safe this Bonfire Night.”
Top fire officer Assistant Chief Officer ( ACO) Lewis Ramsay has also condemned attacks on firefighters at this time of year.
He said his crews were targeted by missiles and fireworks in the course of their duties last year on the fire service’s busiest night of the year.
Firefighters across the country responded to 970 incidents on November 5, 2016 — including 326 unofficial bonfires — while Operations Control dealt with hundreds of calls.
ACO Ramsay, the SFRS’s director of response and resilience, said: “Our firefighters’ main purpose is to save lives. You can rest assured that they will always be there and standing on the front line to help at times of emergency.
“And these firefighters are your father, mother, brother or sister — someone’s family.
“It beggars belief when I hear that they have either been physically assaulted or verbally abused when trying to assist their communities.
“But be left in absolutely no doubt that it is often down to a very small minority of individuals within those communities.
“I would like to take this opportunity to stress, once again, that this will not be tolerated because our firefighters absolutely do not deserve to be met with such behaviour.”
ACO Ramsay warned that such criminal action would be taken extremely seriously and vowed to work with police partners to ensure those responsible are identified and held to account.
Recent statistics show a firefighter is attacked in Scotland every three days — in the last six years there have been 590 incidents where staff have been physically or verbally abused or had objects thrown at appliances.
Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The free Paisley Firework Spectacular has an 80s theme and some classic tunes from the era will be your soundtrack to this year’s display.
The 80s theme kicks off with a family fun afternoon from 2pm to 6pm in Paisley Town Hall featuring free classic arcade games.
There will also be workshops and face painting for the children and a silent disco running across the afternoon, before the fireworks are lit at 7pm.