Eleventh Night bonfires: Fall in call-outs for firefighters

There was a decrease in the number of Eleventh Night bonfire incidents which required a response from firefighters.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said it attended 35 bonfire-related calls between 18:00 BST on Monday and 02:00 BST on Tuesday.

"This represents a 12.5% decrease in bonfire incidents during the same timeframe in 2021," the NIFRS said.

Meanwhile police are investigating reports of flags and emblems being placed on some bonfires.

The annual bonfires mark the start of Battle of the Boyne commemorations.

Thousands of people in unionist areas in Northern Ireland commemorate the anniversary of the battle every summer with bonfires on 11 July and parades on 12 July.

The events celebrate the 1690 victory of the Protestant William of Orange - also known as King Billy - over his Catholic father-in-law, King James II.

Later, members of the Orange Order will hold marches at 18 locations across Northern Ireland.

The Eleventh Night bonfire tradition commemorates the preparations for the battle, when large fires were lit to welcome William of Orange and guide him along on his journey.

It is usually one of the busiest nights of the year for the NIFRS, but bonfire-related call-outs were down on Monday night.

NIFRS said it received a total of 203 emergency 999 calls in the period between 18:00 on Monday and 02:00 on Tuesday.

Fire crews responded to 98 operational incidents during that time, but just over one third of those were bonfire-related incidents.

"NIFRS maintained normal emergency response throughout the evening, attending a range of operational incidents including special service calls, a road traffic collision and other emergencies."

Before some bonfires were lit, pictures started to appear on social media showing election posters and sectarian anti-Catholic slogans placed on them.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said on Tuesday morning that it had received "a number of complaints relating to flags, effigies, election posters and other emblems being placed on bonfires".

"We are gathering evidence in respect of these complaints and will review to establish whether offences have been committed," a PSNI statement said.

Cara Hunter from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) tweeted a photo showing her election posters and those of other nationalist politicians on a bonfire.

"The normalisation of these types of bonfires is a sad reflection of where we are today," Ms Hunter said.

"It's about time leaders from the unionist community stepped up and called this out for what it is - blatant sectarianism. It needs to stop."

Sinn Féin politician Philip McGuigan described a bonfire in Ballymena as a "hate crime" after a range of election posters and Irish flags were placed on it.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said it was utterly disgraceful to place such items on bonfires.

"Yet again we see the bigotry of a few undermining the many," he added.

The Reverend Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Orange Order, also condemned the incidents.

"I don't see a need for burning flags or burning election posters on bonfires," he said.

"We're out to celebrate our culture. People have their own culture and politics. The Twelfth of July is about the glorious revolution and what it achieved for everybody, civil and religious liberty for all."

In County Tyrone, police are investigating criminal damage to flags and bunting that were erected for a Twelfth event in Castlecaulfield.

The damage was caused at about 21:30 BST on Sunday and a PSNI spokesman said the incident was being treated as a hate crime.

Ahead of this year's Eleventh Night bonfires, there had been several appeals for the public to heed safety advice following the death of man who fell from a bonfire at the weekend.

John Steele was helping to build a bonfire in the Antiville area of Larne when he fell from a height at about 21:30 BST on Saturday.

The land the bonfire was on is owned by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and it has launched an investigation into the accident.