Firemen demand stricter laws after attack on colleague

Fire officers want the Government to introduce strict legislation to protect emergency services workers from assaults after a colleague was attacked on Saturday night.

The man was left with facial injuries that needed 35 stitches after he was hit by a glass bottle thrown by a member of the public. He was part of a Dublin fire brigade unit that was responding to an emergency call.

The unit was on its way to a fire in Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, when a bottle was thrown at the truck at Fairview Strand. There were large crowds there following the Robbie Williams concert in nearby Croke Park.

Attacks on firemen were becoming increasingly common, said Brian Murray, Siptu chairman of the National Fire Fighters Committee. "There are a couple of attacks every week, it's becoming increasingly prevalent and it's not just a Dublin problem."

Fire crews were often lured out by hoax calls and attacked by gangs of youths, he said. Legislation had been put in place in Britain making it a specific crime to attack members of the emergency service and the Government needed to introduce similar provisions, he said.