Over 300 emergency calls to NI Fire Service as Eleventh Night bonfires lit
Firefighters dealt with 303 emergency calls as Eleventh Night bonfires were ignited across Northern Ireland.
Last updated 56 minutes ago
A man died yesterday after falling off the Braniel estate bonfire in Belfast on Friday.
The bonfires are lit ahead of the Orange Order's 12th of July parades.
The burning of Eleventh Night bonfires leads to one of the busiest evenings of the year for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.
Firefighters attended 151 operational incidents - 54 of these bonfire-related.
Area Commander Dermot Rooney said activity was "consistently high" from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning.
In the Cookstown area, firefighters had to withdraw from a bonfire as a result of a "hostile crowd".
On Milner Street, Belfast, a garage caught fire after flames spread from a bonfire.
Mr Rooney said: "with further bonfires planned, we are prepared and ready to respond to all types of emergencies."
Several bonfires have become the focus of contention due to the placing of flags, effigies and election posters on the pyres before they are set alight.
There was widespread condemnation after a bonfire in Moygashel, Co. Tyrone, featured a replica of a mosque at the top.