Dublin Fire Brigade reports busiest Halloween night in 15 years

Dublin Fire Brigade has reported its busiest Halloween night in 15 years. A total of 1,620 calls were processed on Saturday night, a spokesperson said. The service received 585 Dublin fire calls, with 470 of these directly relating to Halloween. A further 366 fire calls were processed in Leinster, and Dublin ambulance service processed 669 calls. “Our operational crews had to battle not only multiple bonfire-related calls, but several house fires, vacant property fires, car fires, serious road traffic collisions and many serious emergency medical service calls,” a spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said. READ MOREThey said all Dublin Fire Brigade frontline appliances were mobilised and busy for the entire evening, but all of its crews were safe with no injuries to report.The spokesperson said there were a number of factors at play in the increase in activity.“The fact it was a dry, mild evening,” they said. “It was a Saturday night, and also the increase in access to illegal fireworks through online channels, leading to an increase in Halloween-related activity on the streets and around bonfires.”Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Galway Fire Brigade said Halloween night in Galway city was quiet this year. They responded to six or seven bonfire-related calls, which was well down compared with previous years, they said.