Bonfire night attacks on firefighters in West Yorkshire drops to lowest level in five years
Attacks on firefighters on Bonfire Night have fallen to their lowest level in five years, a new report reveals.
A report to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA)’s Full Authority also shows the number of incidents crews were called to across the county also fell to its lowest level in five years.
Over the bonfire period there were six attacks on firefighters in total in comparison to 16 attacks on crew members last year.
The number of incidents the fire service was called to during the two-week period, between 29 October and 12 November, fell. Crews were called to 196 incidents in 2024/25 compared to 151 in 2025/26.
Meanwhile the number of incidents on November 5 was at its lowest level over the last five years in Leeds. Crews were called to 68 reports 2024/24 compared to 47 this year.
The report said the work to reduce attacks and calls to fire crews was as a result of collaboration across key partners through proactive planning and targeted interventions.
It said: “Through proactive planning, targeted interventions, and joint response operations, WYFRS and its partners achieved notable reductions in incidents and attacks on emergency personnel, while maintaining public safety and operational effectiveness.
“It is a real positive that WYFRS have seen no firefighter injuries and the lowest number of attacks when compared to the same two-week period of the previous five years.
“Although the mid-week date of November 5 would have helped to dilute the activity over the neighbouring two weekends, it was still much improved over the previous year which also fell on a mid-weekday.
“The establishment of joint working within the Special Operations Rooms allowed WYFRS to have full situational awareness of the West Yorkshire Police activity, and any concerns, across West Yorkshire; further assisting our decision making and joint operations to reduce the risk to staff of all partner agencies and the public, whilst also ensuring that our usual emergency response was still effective and operating as normal to keep West Yorkshire safe. “