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'Challenging' Eleventh night for Northern Ireland Fire Service

Luke Sproule and Ross McKee
BBC News NI
Reuters A man stands on the Cave Hill in Belfast staring out at a range of bonfires.Reuters
A man stands on Cave Hill in Belfast surveying a range of bonfires

Northern Ireland's fire service has said it had a "challenging and extremely busy" Eleventh night as wildfires put added pressure on firefighters.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service received 277 emergency calls between 18:00 and 02:00 BST - 72 of which were bonfire related.

That is more than twice as many as on last year's Eleventh Night.

Eleventh night bonfires were lit across Northern Ireland, including at a controversial site off the Donegall Road in south Belfast.

The fires are lit every year as part of celebrations in some unionist areas, ahead of the Orange Order's 12 July parades on Saturday. While most pass off without any controversy, some are contentious.

PA Media Bonfire alight at a site off the Donegall road in south Belfast. A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service appliance is located beside an electricity substation.PA Media
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service protected an electricity substation at a bonfire site off the Donegall Road in south Belfast

NIFRS Area Commander Andy Burns said a firefighter had been attacked while at a bonfire in Lisburn.

"They were not injured and remained on duty," he said.

"This was an isolated incident and not reflective of the support shown to firefighters in carrying out their duties across the evening."

Mr Burns said that in addition to bonfire incidents, firefighters attended a range of emergency calls, including a number of wildfires, with five fire appliances at the Bloody Bridge area of Newcastle, County Down. They also attended a three vehicle road traffic collision in Rathfriland.

"With high temperatures and dry weather this bank holiday weekend, a further period of heightened operational activity is expected over the coming days," he added.

Concerns had been raised about a bonfire off the Donegall Road in south Belfast due to the presence of asbestos on the site, as well as fears over the power supply to two major hospitals because the bonfire is near an electricity substation.

Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Andrew Muir had urged people not to light or attend it.

That bonfire was lit just after midnight.

An image of the Dongeall Road bonfire, in the middle distance, beginning to catch light. Flames can be seen rising from the top of it. A metal fence is in the foreground
The Donegall Road bonfire, where concerns were raised about the presence of asbestos onsite, was lit just after midnight

Effigies of rap trio Kneecap were placed on another bonfire in south Belfast. They appeared along with a placard referencing the group.

A banner about the band was placed on a bonfire in Dungannon, County Tyrone.

The band's manager, Daniel Lambert, shared a quote from Kneecap on X, saying that young working-class people in Belfast were "facing the same issues whether they're from the Falls Road or the Shankill".

PA Media Effigies of three figures wearing balaclavas in the style of the green, white and orange Irish tricolour flag. The figure on the left is wearing a beige fleece and blue jeans, the one in the middle an orang boiler suit and the one on the right a Celtic top of green and white hoops and dark blue tracksuit bottoms. They are standing on the side of a bonfire made up of wooden pallets.PA Media
The Kneecap effigies were placed on a bonfire before it was lit on Friday night
Pacemaker A bonfire goes up in flames, silhouetted against a black night's sky. In the foreground silhouetted figures can be seen watching it burn.Pacemaker
Bonfires, including this one in Mount Vernon in north Belfast, were lit on Friday night