The Fire Brigade of Dublin witnessed its busiest Halloween evening in ten years on the past Thursday, with a stark increase in the volume of calls as opposed to the previous year. Over the 24-hour span from the midnight of October 31st to November 1st, the city’s fire brigade responded to a total of 494 fire-related calls, 421 of which were directly tied to Halloween festivities. Furthermore, within the same timeframe, the emergency ambulance services across Dublin fielded 435 calls.
This considerable uptick stands in contrast to the events of October 31st, 2023, when fire services in Dublin reported a total of 244 calls, including 185 associated with Halloween, and 385 ambulance emergencies. In the year prior, 2022, the numbers were even lower, with 234 fire call-outs of which 169 were Halloween-related and 357 were emergency ambulance calls. A representative of the Dublin Fire Brigade confirmed that it marked the height of activity for Dublin’s fire services in a decade.
A primary factor behind this year’s escalation is believed to be the favourable weather on Thursday evening, as it was relatively mild and dry as compared to the previous year when yellow alerts for rainfall were issued nationwide.
Interestingly, false information about a Halloween parade led to a substantial gathering of people on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. This event, which was erroneously announced on social media, saw hundreds of people in attendance.
In the lead-up to Halloween this year, Dublin city’s local governing bodies cleared more than 500 tonnes of potential bonfire materials, according to a public statement from the City Council of Dublin. On Thursday night, while most of the Halloween-related calls were linked to dealing with bonfires, the Fire Brigade of Dublin city also managed fires at various locations including a deserted house in Tallaght, an apartment fire near Lower Mount Street, a playground blaze in Jobstown, and a fire at a clothing bank in Kilbarrack. Paramedics found themselves treating facial and hand injuries caused by fireworks throughout the city. Simultaneously, a few cases of antisocial behaviour towards the fire and ambulance crews were reported, as per the City Council’s statement. Fortunately, there were no incidents of injury among the personnel involved.
The Garda has verified that, contrary to the rumours circulating on the internet, no Halloween procession is planned to occur in the downtown area of Dublin today or tonight. The declaration, which appeared on X, appealed to those currently assembled on O’Connell Street in anticipation of the parade to kindly and safely disperse. Furthermore, a representative from the Garda stated they had not received any substantial incident reports last night.