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Last Updated: Thursday, 4 November, 2004, 06:55 GMT
Attacks could keep fire crews away
Firefighter
Up to 60 attacks on firefighters have been reported within weeks
Attacks against fire crews are becoming so common officers may withdraw from all but emergency calls.

In one case, a crew was forced to stop tackling a vehicle fire in Pontypool, south Wales, when youngsters threw fireworks at them.

And on Tuesday, stone-throwing youths barricaded a road and prevented South Wales Fire Service getting to a house fire in Ely, Cardiff.

Attacks are so common, it is said officers had to "like it or lump it".

Crews are considering attending certain calls only if they have police protection.

The issue is to be discussed at a conference hosted by South Wales Fire Service which will have firefighters from all over the UK along with legal experts and police representatives.

It's getting to the stage where fire crews won't enter [some areas] unless they have got police assistance
Jo Staples, South Wales Fire Service

A fire service spokeswoman said the Ely incident on Tuesday could have had fatal consequences.

"Youths were barricading the road, chucking stones," she said.

"Officers called police, the police came and dispersed the youths and they could carry on.

"Luckily nobody was hurt in the fire but, if they'd been trapped in the house, they could have been."

Fire crews were also stoned by groups of youths at Rhymney on Wednesday night, when they were called to a bonfire at a skate park.

Crews were pelted with stones by youths, although there were no injuries. Police were called to the scene but no arrests were made.

Jo Staples, a community fire safety advisor with South Wales Fire Service, said there had been 50 to 60 incidents in the past few weeks alone.

"It's becoming a way of life for [firefighters]," she told the BBC Wales News website.

The severity of the attacks have become so frequent that I think a lot of firefighters have become unshockable
Jo Staples

"You either like it or lump it - unfortunately, they have to lump it."

She said some areas were turning into hotspots for trouble.

"It's getting to the stage where fire crews won't enter [some areas] unless they have got police assistance.

"The severity of the attacks have become so frequent that I think a lot of firefighters have become unshockable."

South Wales Fire Service is already making plans to install CCTV on fire tenders to help combat violence against crews and catch those responsible.

In some cases, fire chiefs have said fires are being lit deliberately to lure crews to an area where they are then set upon by gangs.


SEE ALSO:
Cameras to foil fire crew attacks
18 Oct 04  |  South East Wales
Teenage gang attacks firefighters
25 Oct 04  |  Coventry/Warwickshire
999 hoaxer vows to give up
10 Oct 04  |  Wales


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