Northern Ireland’s fire service has said it had a “challenging and extremely busy” Eleventh night as wildfires put added pressure on firefighters.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service received 277 emergency calls between 18:00 and 02:00 BST – 72 of which were bonfire related.
That is more than twice as many as on last year’s Eleventh Night.
Eleventh night bonfires were lit across Northern Ireland, including at a controversial site off the Donegall Road in south Belfast.
The fires are lit every year as part of celebrations in some unionist areas, ahead of the Orange Order’s 12 July parades on Saturday. While most pass off without any controversy, some are contentious.
NIFRS Area Commander Andy Burns said a firefighter had been attacked while at a bonfire in Lisburn.
“They were not injured and remained on duty,” he said.
“This was an isolated incident and not reflective of the support shown to firefighters in carrying out their duties across the evening.”
Mr Burns said that in addition to bonfire incidents, firefighters attended a range of emergency calls, including a number of wildfires, with five fire appliances at the Bloody Bridge area of Newcastle, County Down. They also attended a three vehicle road traffic collision in Rathfriland.
“With high temperatures and dry weather this bank holiday weekend, a further period of heightened operational activity is expected over the coming days,” he added.
Concerns had been raised about a bonfire off the Donegall Road in south Belfast due to the presence of asbestos on the site, as well as fears over the power supply to two major hospitals because the bonfire is near an electricity substation.
Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister Andrew Muir had urged people not to light or attend it.
That bonfire was lit just after midnight.
Effigies of rap trio Kneecap were placed on another bonfire in south Belfast. They appeared along with a placard referencing the group.
A banner about the band was placed on a bonfire in Dungannon, County Tyrone.
The band’s manager, Daniel Lambert, shared a quote from Kneecap on X, saying that young working-class people in Belfast were “facing the same issues whether they’re from the Falls Road or the Shankill”.
