Firefighter attacks drop

Solicitors in Belfast and Northern Ireland have seen the number of firefighters claiming damages for criminal injuries fall over the last year, after the number of attacks on fire crews have fallen.

According to figures released by the BBC, solicitors in Belfast and Northern Ireland would have seen considerably fewer fire fighters who had been injured by malicious people in 2007 than they did the previous year.

While there were 342 reported incidences of attacks on firefighters in 2006, last year there were only 285 attacks that were reported to the police.

One in seven of cases in the UK where solicitors could press for criminal injury damages will occur in Belfast and Northern Ireland, the BBC calculates.

But Jim Barbour, senior union official for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, claims that fire crews in Belfast and Northern Ireland are being targeted more than their British counterparts.

Mr Barber told the Belfast Telegraph last month: "The union sees no great improvement in terms of this issue. The brigade is doing all it can but firefighters are still being lured into ambushes.

"It causes great stress on firefighters. These are the people who attend incidents on the ground, and put their lives at risk to save the lives of others."

It is likely that solicitors will continue to see calls for their services from firefighters in the province, as Mr Barbour added that many of those who had been attacked had to leave work because of the severity of their injuries.

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