Preventing Illegal Bonfires
Help keep St.Helens safe - #Flamesaintgames
- If you see an illegal bonfire being built in a public space,
such as a park, playground, street or on grassland, report it for
removal to St.Helens Council or Merseyside Fire & Rescue
Service.
- If you know of anybody letting off fireworks dangerously,
committing anti-social behaviour or damaging your area purposely to
build illegal bonfires, please report them to the Police on 101 or
via the Police Contact Centre on Facebook & twitter @MerPolCC (
If it's an emergency call 999)
- Don't provide firestarters with any unwanted materials to
burn.
- If you are a tenant of a registered social landlord (RSL), such
as Helena Housing, take advantage of organized 'Good Guy' skip days to dispose
of bulky materials.
- Alternative arrangements for the removal of bulky rubbish can
be made via the Council's bulky rubbish removal service or by
visiting your local Household Waste Recycling Centre.
- Please store any combustible materials safely, away from the
front of your home - wheelie bins & recycling containers are
often targeted at this time of year.
Illegal fires are dangerous - they can easily
spread and prevent the fire service from attending to serious
emergencies.
Legal Bonfires
It is not illegal to have your own bonfire on your own property
- but there are some laws around it which you will need to take
into consideration - you can find them here: https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules
and here are a number of ways you
can make sure your party is safe.
What are we doing to prevent illegal
bonfires?
- We have put together an Illegal Bonfire removal taskforce
'The Good Guys' consisting of St.Helens Council Street Scene &
Cleaning Services, St.Helens Council Contact Centre, Merseyside
Fire & Rescue Service bonfire removal trucks and local housing
association caretakers.
- We have added a 'Good Guy' reporting feature to the Council's
App for iphone & android - so you can mark the location
of illegal bonfire build-ups & submit photographic
evidence of illegal bonfires being built.
- To dowse out any anti-social behaviour caused by the minority,
our partners in Merseyside Police, will also be patrolling local
neighbourhoods regularly to ensure people can enjoy the festivities
safely.
- We will be running Stay Safe Operations on both Halloween &
bonfire night - to remove young vulnerable people (those who may be
at risk of becoming involved in crime & asb, or of becoming a
victim of crime themselves) off the streets and take them to a safe
place.
Report the build-up of illegal bonfires for
removal:
- St.Helens' Council's Contact Centre (01744
676789) is available to take your reports from 8am to 6pm
weekdays & 10am to 2pm Saturdays. You can also report online,
or via the Council's App (available on both Iphone &
Android).
- Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service also has a dedicated
illegal bonfire removal phoneline (0800 731
5958)