NEARLY 400 attacks on firefighters have been committed in Merseyside and Cheshire during the last three years, according to figures released today.
The fresh research reveals the North West had 462 attacks on fire crews just last year – more than any other region in England. And Merseyside and Cheshire accounted for 174 of those.
They included a hoaxer luring firefighters to a “car fire” in Cheshire before attacking them with bricks, and a petrol bomb being thrown at a fire appliance in Merseyside as firemen tackled a rubbish blaze.
Numbers of attacks are falling in the region, although under-reporting may mean the actual figures are much higher.
The independent report – Easy Targets? – published today, was conducted by the Labour Research Department for the Fire Brigades Union using the Freedom of Information Act.
The figures produced dwarf the Government’s official figures, which claim there were only 400 attacks in England and Wales.
Fire crews report threats, inti-midation, abuse, and being pelted with bricks, bottles, and petrol bombed. Other incidents include ambushes, booby traps and being attacked with lumps of wood and knives.
Les Skarratts, Merseyside secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said: “It is a worrying issue and we do believe these figures are conservative.
“We need to work with commu-nity leaders and youth workers to find out why this is happening – it is no good just reacting to it.
“It is almost an occupational hazard and more resources are needed to tackle the issue.”
The FBU has accused Whitehall of neglecting the problem and called for a detailed and funded Government-led strategy aimed at significantly reducing attacks.
In some areas abuse, threats and intimidation are so frequent they are no longer reported, but the report identifies North West fire authorities as among the best at tackling the problem of attacks.
The report found some fire and rescue services have well-developed policies for tackling violence towards all fire service personnel. But others don’t.
FBU regional secretary Kevin Brown said: “The highest numbers of attacks are in areas characterised by poor housing, poverty and few or no facilities for young people. Understanding why attacks happen is not to con-done or accept them as part of the job, but to help us address the problem.”
In England and Wales as a whole, the Department for Communities and Local Government claim attacks fell by 68%, from 1,300 in 2005-06 to only 400 in 2006-07.
Figures from fire services using the Freedom of Information Act show attacks rose from 1,300 in 2005/6 to 1,504 in 2006/7, up 15%.
lizawilliams
