Calderdale firefighters attacked, verbally abused and have missiles thrown at them

During the period, fire crews had missiles thrown at them and were physically attacked during callouts.

The figures have been released by West Yorkshire Fire Authority where members were given details of some of the abuse its staff have to put up with.

But despite a string of violent incidents, attacks on firefighters were actually down compared to the previous year – when 92 attacks were recorded in West Yorkshire.

On May 12 crews attended a dwelling fire on Slade Lane, Rastrick.

The officer in charge of the incident was physically attacked by the occupier.

Firefighters coming under attack by youths was a common theme in Calderdale

On July 1 at 7.45pm whilst attending a large grass fire in Canterbury Crescent, Halifax crews were subjected to verbal abuse by youths.

On August 8 at 7pm whilst attending an incident at Cousin Lane, Halifax, youths threw stones at the crew and also put an LPG cylinder onto the fire.

On Bonfire night eggs were thrown at crews whilst they attended a fire in the open on Cedar Street, Halifax.

The report said: “The Chief Fire Officer re-emphasises that even one attack is one too many and that every assistance and encouragement will be given to the police to bring offenders to court. Work is continuing with a variety of agencies from the police and district councils to community groups and youth leaders to address these issues.”

Efforts to reduce attacks include making the public more aware of ‘Silent Witness’ cameras installed on fire engines to catch yobs in the act.

In the past 12 months there were nine incidents involving Kirklees crews, 18 involving Leeds crews and one involving Wakefield firefighters.

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