Bonfire safety warnings ahead of firefighter strike

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said its emergency response service will be severely reduced during the strike days, with significantly fewer fire engines available to respond to 999 calls.

Firefighters are on strike from 6pm on Friday, October 31 until 6pm on Tuesday, November 4.

Chief fire officer James Courtney, said: “As has been the case during previous strike periods, we have contingency arrangements in place to provide a basic level of fire cover to the people of South Yorkshire. 

“But our 999 service will still be severely depleted so we need the public to help keep our fire engines available for real emergencies.

“Our best advice is to attend an organised display. 

“If you insist on holding your own event, then take extreme caution and follow all of our usual advice to make sure bonfires don’t get out of control and incidents are kept low.”

The top tips for staying safe this bonfire period are:

Bonfires – attend a public display instead or hold your display on another night.

Fireworks – store them securely and out of reach of children and follow instructions on the box.

Displays – if you do hold your own event, keep bonfires and fireworks well away from buildings, sheds and trees.

For more information on staying safe during the strike, visit www.syfire.gov.uk