Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) is working in partnership with each of Merseyside’s Local Authorities to ensure a managed, safer control of community bonfires during the bonfire period. Last year, the size and scale of some bonfires reached a point where they posed a serious danger to public safety and property.

This year those organising community bonfires will be doing so in conjunction with local Safety Advisory Groups to ensure that events are regulated and so that festivities can be better planned and go ahead safely.

On bonfire night last year, the Service received 51% more emergency calls than the year before, there was also an increase in the anti-social and dangerous use of fireworks and an increase in the number of attacks on our staff. There were many bonfires across the county at which emergency service access routes were compromised, with some bonfires built so large that they posed a significant risk to people and property nearby.

A spokesperson for MFRS said:

“We want to ensure that everyone can enjoy the bonfire period safely and without risk of injury to themselves or damage to property. On the 5th of November we generally adopt a tolerant approach towards bonfires which are managed safely – if they in the open, supervised by adults and under control we do not extinguish them.

“However last year, the sheer size of some of the bonfires at some sites in Merseyside posed a serious risk to public safety. We have been working closely with local councils, neighbourhood teams, Merseyside Police and community bonfire organisers to ensure that the size of the bonfires does not get out of hand and present a risk to the safety of the public, our firefighters and other emergency services. We will work together to ensure that associated events have effective crowd management in place, so safety routes are not compromised, and if emergency response is required access is not hindered.”

In addition to taking a strong stance on dangerously large bonfires, MFRS is asking residents to take simple actions to help reduce the number of deliberate fires involving wheelie bins, bonfires and rubbish, known as ‘secondary’ fires. Secondary fires can prevent firefighters from responding to emergencies and potentially-life threatening incidents. Additionally, secondary fires can spread quickly and put lives and nearby properties at risk.

• Bring in your wheelie bins as soon as you can after collection day, so they do not become a target
• Be a good neighbour and take your neighbours’ bins in too if you can
• Never give combustible materials to anyone
• If you see a build-up of bonfire material, please report it on the MFRS website
• Fly tipping can be a source of very unsafe bonfire materials and can present a risk to public health and the environment, it is also an offence to fly tip

This year, the MFRS tipper trucks will be working from Monday, 27th October collecting bonfire materials from across Merseyside. Please report any build-up of combustible material that could be used for deliberate fires via the MFRS website: https://www.merseyfire.gov.uk/safety-advice/community-safety/bonfire-safety/report-an-unlit-bonfire/