Dublin Fire Brigade reports busiest Halloween in a decade

Updated / Sunday, 1 Nov 2026 07:18

Dublin Fire Brigade reported the highest number of Halloween calls it has received in over a decade last night.

Chief Fire Officer Greg O'Dwyer said that, as of midnight, Dublin Fire Brigade had received 558 calls. This is an increase from the 320 fire calls responded to last year.

During Halloween 2024, 494 fire calls were received. Dublin Fire Brigade described that year as their busiest Halloween in a decade.

Mr O'Dwyer also reported 483 Dublin ambulance calls and 338 East Region fire calls.

"A very busy night in the ERCC...that's a total of over 1,350 calls processed already," he said last night, adding that a full breakdown will be available later today.

Both Dublin Fire Brigade and An Garda Síochána reported no disturbance of serious concern despite the increased number of fire calls.

Mr O'Dwyer said the high number of calls was due to a "perfect storm" of factors, such as dry weather and Halloween falling on a Saturday.

Dublin Fire Brigade had responded mostly to bonfires and a couple of domestic fires, Mr O'Dwyer said and that that a bonfire set a nearby derelict house on fire in Mulhuddart.

Firefighters from Tara Street and North Strand fire stations also saved three dogs from a house fire.

Separately, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service reported that between 6pm yesterday and 1am this morning, its fire crews responded to a total of 89 operational incidents.

Several of these were Halloween-related, including 23 involving bonfires, the service reported.

At six incidents, fireworks were intentionally directed at attending fire crews; no damage or injuries resulted and operational response for local communities was maintained throughout, it said.