Police and firefighters around UK gearing up to tackle Bonfire Night disorder

Emergency services are preparing for potential disorder in parts of the UK on Bonfire Night, amid concerns over the safety of firefighters from rising attacks and shortages of resources.

Some communities have already been hit by unrest and antisocial behaviour in the days leading up to 5 November, with police in multiple towns and cities using enhanced powers such as dispersal orders to tackle groups letting off fireworks in public places.

Seven people were arrested in Birmingham on Saturday after fireworks were set off in the city centre on Halloween, while the landlady of a Salford pub told how it was surrounded by “about 60 teenagers”, who shot fireworks at the building and harassed passersby.

Police in some hotspots have reassured members of the public that there will be a greater police presence, while firefighters have urged people to end “unacceptable” attacks.

A big policing operation is taking place in Scotland – the largest since the visit of the US president, Donald Trump, last year.

A mutual aid agreement will see public order vehicles and drivers brought in from English and Welsh police forces to tackle potential unrest on a night with rumoured far-right protest activity, while Celtic will play at home in Glasgow in the Europa League against Turkish club Beşiktaş.

Fireworks control zones are already in place in parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow banning the use of pyrotechnics, part of a crackdown aiming to avoid scenes from Bonfire Night in 2023, when dozens of police officers were injured in disorder.

Extra officers will also be on the streets in West Yorkshire, where police said the period around 5 November was one of the busiest times of the year.

The county has been a hotspot for pyrotechnic-related violence year after year, with riot officers and police helicopters routinely called to the Hyde Park area of Leeds to tackle disorder caused by people using fireworks as missiles.

A total of 30 tonnes of illegal fireworks were seized in the West Yorkshire cities of Bradford and Halifax ahead of the Halloween and Bonfire Night period, which police hope will help tackle misuse.

A National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) spokesperson said: “Some people may feel more vulnerable to harassment and antisocial behaviour at this time of year.”

They added: “We want people to go out and enjoy the season’s activities but they must ensure that they do not cross the line into antisocial behaviour and are mindful of the impact that their activity may have on more vulnerable people in the community.”

Last year, firefighters in Merseyside were attacked with fireworks while dealing with a blaze at a block of high-rise flats in Liverpool, just one of dozens of similar incidents every year.

Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government figures show that 129 firefighters were injured in attacks in England in the year ending March 2025, a 34% increase on the 96 recorded the previous year. Of these, 13 suffered serious injuries requiring a hospital stay.

Figures from the Scottish fire and rescue service show Scottish firefighters suffered 16 physical attacks and 20 attacks on property and equipment in 2025/26.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) chair, Phil Garrigan, said firefighters “put themselves on the line to protect others” and “should never face violence or abuse from the people they are there to help”.

“Behind every uniform is a person. Firefighters are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends, neighbours and members of the communities they serve. They return home to their families after every shift just like anyone else.

“Every attack on a firefighter is unacceptable. As well as putting individual firefighters at risk of harm, it can affect their ability to respond effectively and protect the communities that rely on them.

“As we enter a busy autumn period, we are asking everyone to treat firefighters with the respect they deserve so they can continue keeping people safe.”

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it stood by a warning that services were pushed “far beyond safe limits” responding to thousands of calls last Bonfire Night, which included a 10-year high in London.

The FBU national officer Adam Taylor said fire services had been “decimated” since 2010 and called for an increase of 5,000 firefighters “to ensure that we can respond to these incidents safely with the right number of firefighters and in the quickest time possible”.

Taylor pointed out fire stations have closed and hundreds of frontline fire engines have been removed from operational service “which will inevitably stretch the response and increase the response times”.

“That does make the job of dealing with those incidents less safe,” he said.

Calls for regulation of fireworks have intensified year upon year and public concern is increasingly growing, particularly around the safety of animals on Bonfire Night. More than 1.6 million people have signed Change.org petitions calling for firework regulations.

The Scottish Greens on Wednesday called for a ban on private firework sales which they said would stop “dangerous, unorganised displays”.

MSP Maggie Chapman said: “There may well be a place for organised and well-managed events and displays which can be important community celebrations that bring people together.

“However, that cannot justify the widespread sale of fireworks and dangerous, unorganised displays that we see frequently in residential areas.”

In 2024, an endangered baby red panda at Edinburgh zoo named Roxie died from stress caused by fireworks on Bonfire Night, according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

Meanwhile, the National Sheep Association is urging people to consider “a moment’s thought for the sheep in the next field”, warning that flashes and bangs from fireworks can cause ewes to miscarry lambs. They can also cause livestock to panic and bolt.