Communities in Greater Manchester urged to help prevent attacks on Emergency service workers this Bonfire Night

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue (GMFRS) statistics show that from 1st September to 10 November 2021 show 27 firefighters were attacked.

In the same period of time Police received 940 hoax calls and 1,318 fires were started deliberately, the stats show also police themselves were attacked.

All Emergency services in Greater Manchester are joining forces with its partners to ask for the public’s help in preventing incidents this Autumn.

Assaults of Emergency service workers who are there to help people and save lives should be protected and let them get on with the job, it is also correct that anyone caught attacking any Emergency service staff will be brought to court where you will get a sentence or fined, in some cases depending on the judge you could get both!

The new campaign aims to highlight the consequences of anti-social behaviour; encourage parents to have conversations with their children about their behaviour during the Bonfire Night period; and inform residents about the ways to report anti-social behaviour incidents.

In addition, GMFRS will be visiting schools to share safety advice on bonfires, fireworks and anti-social behaviour to ensure young people enjoy the autumn safely.

GMFRS’s Director of Prevention and Protection, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Leon Parkes, said: “I am urging members of the public to support the emergency services during this Halloween and Bonfire Night period.“Please speak to your children and young people about the consequences of anti-social behaviour and attacks on emergency service workers who are just out there doing their jobs.

“No one should be attacked for trying to keep you, your families, and your communities safe.“Setting light to fires, throwing fireworks and making hoax calls can cost lives and keep our firefighters away from dealing with life-threatening incidents.“

These actions are bang out of order and will not be tolerated.”GMP Superintendent, Roger Pegram, said: “This Halloween and Bonfire Night, we are urging our communities to celebrate safely and behave in a responsible way.

“Throughout this period, we will be working alongside partners to prevent fireworks-related disorder and other forms of anti-social behaviour but nevertheless, we still anticipate a very busy period for ourselves and the other emergency services.

“There will be increased patrols in place across ASB hotspots, and we urge members of the public not to suffer in silence; contact us if you need help.

“We are committed to keeping not only the public, but our officers and emergency service colleagues safe, and we are grateful that our officers will be supported by the specialist resources and partners.

 “Finally, we would like to appeal to parents and guardians to have frank conversations with young people and to be aware of what they are doing and who with, and where possible, to accompany them if they are out trick or treating, to ensure they are acting in a safe and respectful manner.

Greater Manchester Police and Trafford Council have CCTV cameras in more places than ever before and with WiFi in smart street lights can get live footage in 4K which means even in the dark its clearer than ever before, images and video can also be downloaded much faster.

In our own opinion fireworks should be banned for public use, you can enjoy Bonfire night much better at a display so long as the weather is good enough, we believe Manchester City Council has decided to not go ahead with displays this year due to costs which means more people using fireworks in the streets and parks, this decision will ultimately stretch Emergency services further in North and South Manchester areas.

NWAS Operations Manager, Sarah Scullion, said: “It goes without saying that anti-social behaviour can have a lasting impact on our staff and our emergency service colleagues, who dedicate themselves to attending to people who need help.

“At this time of year, unfortunately we deal with patients who have preventable injuries, such as burns from fireworks, which in many cases can have life changing consequences.  So, we urge people to please think twice about taking part in unofficial events around Bonfire Night.  We do want people to have fun but urge everyone to put safety first and always treat our staff with respect.”