18 attacks on Sunderland firefighters slammed as 'completely unacceptable', despite fall in incidents

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Fire brigade chiefs have hit out after almost 50 “completely unacceptable” attacks on firefighters took place over the last 12 months across Tyne and Wear.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service officers outlined how from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 there were 49 attacks on firefighters in the region

This is down from the 71 recorded in 2022/23 and the 82 registered in 2021/22.

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Of the 49 incidents in 2023/24, 24 occurred in the Newcastle region, with 18 in Sunderland, four in South Tyneside, two in Gateshead and one in North Tyneside.

Fire Engine Aerial Ladder Platform. Source: Tyne and Wear Fire and RescueFire Engine Aerial Ladder Platform. Source: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue
Fire Engine Aerial Ladder Platform. Source: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue

A breakdown of the type of attacks shows 24 involved objects being thrown at firefighters and/or appliances, 18 were verbal abuse, three physical abuse and four “other acts of aggression”.

Brigade chiefs at the latest meeting of the fire authority’s policy and performance committee on Monday, July 15, reiterated such attacks remain unacceptable, despite the “positive” drop compared to previous data.

Lynsey McVay, assistant chief fire officer, said: “It’s disappointing to see that we’ve still got 49 incidents that have resulted in attacks on firefighters and any attack on a firefighter is completely unacceptable.

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“We’ve got the CCTV on the appliances now, we’ve got body-worn cameras that are worn by the officers, where we can push to provide that information to the police, where people are identifiable… we will do that.

“We’ll continue to do what we do, we’ll continue to work with communities, we’ll continue to work with partners in an attempt to prevent these attacks from happening.”

She added firefighters are aiming to work more to build relationships with communities and carry out engagement with police, councils and other partners to further reduce incidents

The meeting also heard crews are “really keen to report all incidents in an attempt for that to be escalated onto police” and for further action to be taken where possible.

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Liberal Democrat councillor Tom Woodwark, Newcastle City Council representative, said: “With attacks on firefighters, one is too many.

“The number we’ve got, again it’s not the fire service that’s the issue there, it’s our communities.

“It’s not the firefighters fighting themselves that causes that.”

In total in 2023/24, 38 of the attacks took place while firefighters were attending fires, with five occurring while they were on “special service” calls and six during false alarms.

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