§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents and attacks on Fire Service and Ambulance Service personnel and vehicles have been recorded in each month since January; and what measures he has taken to protect staff of the emergency services. [74176]
§ Jane KennedyThe Northern Ireland Fire Brigade report all attacks and associated incidents as 'civil disturbance' calls. It is not possible to identify the number of actual attacks on the brigade, however, they do record the number of firefighters injured and appliances damaged as a result of these 'civil disturbance' calls. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service record the actual number of attacks on personnel and vehicles. These are detailed in the following table.
The Government condemn attacks on those who are there to provide a vital service to the entire community. Those who engage in this type of behaviour need to be reminded that some day they or their families may need to call on the assistance of these same emergency services.
NI Fire Brigade NI Ambulance Service Month Personnel injured Appliances damaged Personnel attacked Vehicles attacked January 2 11 0 0 February 2 7 3 2 March 1 9 6 2 April 1 18 9 1 May 7 19 7 2 June 1 9 11 5 July 0 13 7 4 August 0 9 11 2 September 0 8 7 4 Totals 14 103 61 22