Busy Bonfire Night for north firefighters
North firefighters faced a busy Guy Fawkes Night with initial figures showing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews responded to 192 incidents including 92 bonfires in the area yesterday.
These were among more than 1,100 incidents across the country including around 507 bonfires.
In one Highland call-out, five wheelie bins were set on fire in Balloan Road, Inverness at around 7pm. One appliance from Inverness was dispatched and crews used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.
Another involved two bonfires in the South Kessock area of Inverness. One appliance from Inverness was dispatched to the scene and crews used a knapsack sprayer and hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.
Throughout Scotland there were a small number of minor attacks on SFRS crews which included verbal abuse and missiles thrown at appliances, fortunately with no injuries or damage incurred.
These included a single incident in the north, three in the west and two in the east.
SFRS assistant chief officer Dave Boyle said: "Attacks on emergency responders are completely unacceptable and I am sure the public would be outraged by the small number of incidents where their firefighters have been targeted while working to protect people and property.
"Those responsible should know that the authorities take their mindless criminal actions extremely seriously and we work closely with police to ensure they are identified and held to account."
He continued: "While it will take time to establish the full picture it’s clear we have seen a significant number of incidents requiring the attendance of our crews across Scotland.
"Firefighters responded to 999 calls from the Borders to the Western Isles, many of which related to bonfires that were unsupervised or endangered homes and other buildings.
"It’s important to remember however that our crews were not only involved in bonfire-related activities, they also responded to emergencies including building fires and road traffic collisions.
"As always their professionalism and specialist skills were available and put into practice wherever they were needed to protect the public."
