Busy night for emergency services

The emergency services said they had an extremely busy Halloween night with about 1,000 call-outs seeking ambulance and fire brigade services.

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said crews had to deal with incidents involving bonfires and fireworks on top of their regular workload.

There were 296 calls for fire services in Dublin city and county and some 400 calls for ambulances. There were a further 260 calls for fire and ambulance services in areas surrounding Dublin.

There were about 700 call-outs on Halloween night last year as wet weather muted celebrations somewhat.

Ambulance crews were called to deal with a number of burns, he said. A man (23) sustained injuries to his hands when he fell into a bonfire in Kilbarrack.

Paramedics were also called to the Ballyfermot area after three gardaí were injured in two collisions.

A Garda spokesman said two members of the force were injured when their patrol car was rammed by a 4x4 vehicle at about 11.45pm in the Blackditch area.

A third Garda was injured when a second patrol car was rammed by another vehicle.

The three gardaí received minor injuries and were taken to St James's Hospital where they received treatment and were released a short time later.

Two men were arrested in connection with the incidents in the Ballyfermot area.

They are being detained at Clondalkin and Ballyfermot Garda stations under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The Garda spokesman said it was a busy night but with no other major incidents to report.