Halloween night: Car driven onto bonfire among dangerous incidents

Dublin Fire Brigade received hundreds of fire-related calls on Halloween, traditionally one of its busiest days of the year.

The fire brigade had received 337 fire-related calls by 11pm on Wednesday, of which 200 were related to Halloween activities, including one incident at Dolphin’s Barn a during which car was driven onto a bonfire.

The acting assistant chief fire officer for the Dublin region praised local authorities and the gardaí for their “great work” in reducing the number of serious incidents on Halloween night.

Greg O'Dwyer told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the fire service dealt with 904 calls last night, which was "exactly on par" with recent years. Of those calls 368 were fire-related (bonfires) and 365 were ambulance calls, a number of which were Halloween related.

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These figures are six times the level of incidents for a mid week night, he said.

However, the number of minor injuries was down, added Mr O’Dwyer, which was as a result of the “great work” of local authorities and the gardaí.

There were a number of serious injuries to eyes and hands because of fireworks.

The increased number of organised events which were properly monitored was a big help, he said, as were efforts in recent weeks to remove stock piles for bonfires.

“I can’t stress how positive it is that there are properly organised events. Each local authority organised a gathering that kept people at safe events and was great fun for all the family,” he said.

There were a number of dangerous incidents with cars being driven onto bonfires in some cases. “When the fires start to die down in the early hours of the morning, people will throw anything onto the bonfires,” he said.

“The big danger is what people throw on them – everything from gas cylinders to aerosol cans. There is no safe distance from a bonfire in these circumstances.”