Gang throw rocks at fire crews in a second attack in two days
A fire chief has said crews will now only attend some blazes in Sunderland if they have a police escort after a sickening attack on firefighters by a large gang of youths – the second ‘unacceptable’ incident in just two days.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service’s chief fire o f f ic e r C h r i s L ow th e r s ay crews will now only attend secondary fires in the Downhill area when Northumbria Po l ic e a re ab l e to p rov id e support.
Secondary fires are generally small outdoor fires, n o t i nvo l v i n g p e o p l e o r property.
On Saturday night firefighters were called to a bin fire in Downhill where they we re s et up o n by a l a rge number of youths who attacked them with stones and made threats of violence.
Ye s te rd ay, M r L ow th e r said on Twitter: “Last night fire crews were AGAIN attacked with stones and t h re at s o f v i o l e n c e i n t h e D ow n h i l l a rea o f Su n d e r - land. Crews at a bin fire were set upon by a large number of youths.
"We will now only attend secondary fires in this area when Northumbria Police are available to go with us.”
The attack on Saturday night is the second unacceptable incident in two days after a gang of 15 youths threw rocks and stones at a crew who were called to reports of a blaze i n a fie ld, to the
rear of a sports complex, in the Downhill area of the city on Thursday, September 3.
Firefighters were ‘pelted’ with rocks and stones which smashed the windscreen of
the targeted response vehicle – meaning it had to be taken out of service for repair.
Mr Lowther had said previously that the attacks were putt i n g l ive s at r i s k wh i l e c rews wo rk o n th e f ro nt lines.
In a statement on Friday, he said: “It is absolutely unacceptable that firefighters, who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, are being attacked in the line of duty.
“We’re seeing attacks on crews happening more often, I don’t want to go to a firefighter’s home and have to tell their family they have been injured in an attack.
"Fo r t u n at e l y t h e c r e w we re u n i n j u re d l a s t n i g ht but we now have a fire appliance unable to respond to emergencies because of the dangerous actions of these individuals.”