Garda van attacked at scene of Halloween fires in Dublin

A man was arrested on Halloween night after an object was thrown at a Garda vehicle attending the scene of illegal fires in north Dublin.

The man, aged in his 30s, was arrested shortly after midnight in the Belcamp area after the windscreen of a Garda patrol van was damaged, according to a Garda spokesman.

“Gardaí from the National Public Order Unit were on proactive patrol in the Belcamp area at the time responding to reports of a disturbances involving a group of youths and illegal fires when the incident occurred,” said the spokesman.

“The man wan quickly arrested and no Garda members were injured.”

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Dublin Fire Brigade said firefighters from Kilbarrack station were called to extinguish four cars set alight in Belcamp.

“We’re working closely with gardaí at the scene,” it tweeted in the early hours of Sunday. It is understood the cars that were end-of-life cars that had been left in the area.

It was a “busy Halloween” for Dublin Fire Brigade, which said there were no reported injuries among its paramedics or firefighters when night duty finished on Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called to a number of fires and firework incidents on Saturday night, though few with anti-social behaviour.

“So far tonight most fires have required no intervention and our crews have experienced very little anti-social behaviour,” it tweeted shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.

Firefighters attended bonfires in Phibsborough, where video showed a large amount of fireworks being set off.

Earlier in the evening, trains were stopped temporarily on the north side of Dublin after vegetation adjoining property was set alight by fireworks at Harmonstown.

Ahead of Halloween this year, concern had been raised about a rise in the use of fireworks, prompting gardaí to roll out Operation Tombolo - its Halloween policing initiative - earlier than normal.

By 8.30pm, firefighters and paramedics had treated four people for hand, eye and facial injuries resulting from fireworks.

“Fireworks are genuinely dangerous and sadly we always see injuries from them on Halloween night,” tweeted Dublin Fire Brigade.

Northern Ireland

Meanwhile in Northern Ireland fire crews were attacked with fireworks and missiles during two separate incidents on Halloween night.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue reported a more than 20 per cent increase in emergency calls and responses on Saturday night despite strict Covid-19 public health measures being in place across the region.

Crews dealt with hostile members of the public throwing missiles, including fireworks, as they responded to two calls.

Crew members were forced to withdraw for “safety reasons” at one of the incidents. Nobody was injured.

A spokesman for the service said it received 83 emergency calls and responded to a total of 62 incidents between 6pm on Saturday and 1am on Sunday.

This equates to a 22 per cent increase on the same period last year. Eighteen of these incidents were bonfire-related. - Additional reporting PA