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   Treacle brings sweet success to Bonfire Night
GREATER Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has praised the county's residents following Bonfire Night.
Despite it being busier than last year, the evening passed relatively safely with just a handful of injuries and no major incidents. Overall, the fire service control room received around 650 calls from the public on November 5, compared to 438 last year. Firefighters attended 474 incidents, compared to 334 last year. However firework related incidents fell. Director of Prevention and Protection, Peter O’Reilly, said: “It has been a busy firework and bonfire period in comparison to last year as we anticipated, with Bonfire Night falling on a Saturday and with the weather conditions staying clear and dry. “Whilst, compared to last year, the overall number of incidents are up, the number of firework related incidents GMFRS was called to reduced, falling from 15 to nine." The GMFRS results in relation to fireworks were mirrored by those from their partners at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) - who saw a 6% drop in the number of firework related incidents across Greater Manchester on the 5 November. The two emergency services have been working together in the run up to Bonfire Night to make communities as safe as possible through a campaign called Treacle, which also involves a range of other partners, including local councils and the Passenger Transport Authority. Chief Superintendent Jon Rush the Treacle Partnership lead for GMP said: “GMP has worked with GM Fire and Rescue Service and local authority partners throughout the autumn period, preparing our approach to Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night. “This activity, which has included inputs to schools and visits to premises selling fireworks, has culminated in over 300 additional GMP staff being dedicated to preventing anti-social behaviour and supporting the community in enjoying Bonfire Night. “Our activity will continue throughout the rest of the weekend. However the early indications are that we have seen a similar number of firework related incidents to last Bonfire night.” Last night fire crews across Greater Manchester were busy dealing with a range of emergencies. Around 70% of calls to the control room were bonfire related but there were also a number of commercial fires, 10 property fires and three road traffic collisions that required the attendance of multiple appliances. Firefighters reported four firework or bonfire related injuries to the public. Early on in the evening a 14-year-old girl in Little Hulton received injuries to her leg due to a firework. Elsewhere in the county, a man received burns to his hand after trying to light a bonfire using petrol and in Farnworth a man fell onto a bonfire. Between 5.30pm and midnight fire control operators answered around 490 calls but although it was busy, it passed without major incident. GMFRS also updated the public utilising Twitter, tweeting incident updates throughout the evening of Friday and Saturday, which received a very positive response. Peter O’Reilly, added: “GMFRS staff and volunteers have spent considerable time going out to schools and communities, educating them on firework and bonfire safety. This, coupled with a targeted Facebook and radio campaign, has undoubtedly had positive effect. “Although we still have a few days to go until the general sale of fireworks stops, I think, overall, the people of Greater Manchester should be praised for their sensible approach to the bonfire period.” For more information on firework and bonfire safety visit safe4autumn.com where, up to the end of Monday (November 7), those between 6 and 16-years-old can still win an iPad. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
