Bonfire Night: New firefighter bodycams after rise in attacks

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service began piloting bodycams in 2021, but have recently upgraded them and expanded the rollout

More firefighters are being equipped with upgraded body-worn cameras amid a rise in attacks on emergency personnel.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue (CDDFRS) firefighters have had fireworks and missiles thrown at them on four separate occasions this month.

In consequence, new bodycams have been rolled out to all fire stations in the area operating a 24-hour service.

It comes in the lead up to Bonfire Night, traditionally the busiest period of the year for most fire services.

The cameras have also been rolled out to all Business and Community Safety teams, in time for fireworks season.

Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps said: "We've already seen a rise in anti-social behaviour and, most worryingly, attacks on our hard-working firefighters.

"No one goes to work to be assaulted, especially not our firefighters, many of whom chose their career based on their desire to keep other people safe."

The cameras support the 360-degree CCTV system already installed in every CDDFRS fire engine

A spate of attacks on CDDFRS firefighters in recent months has seen emergency workers arriving at incidents and have fireworks, rocks and other missiles hurled at them by young people.

The fire service are warning they will report all offences to the police and seek a criminal conviction.