VIDEO: Festival of Fire amazes with spooktacular fireworks show

The family-friendly event took place in Balbriggan, County Dublin.

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The sky was ablaze with fireworks last night at the Balbriggan Halloween Festival of Fire as thousands of people showed up to watch the dazzling fireworks display.

As part of Fingal County Council’s Safer Halloween initiative, Balbriggan and Blanchardstown were two communities chosen to host the family-friendly event, building on the success of the event in Swords over the past couple of years.

Credit: Puneet Narula

Fergus Byrne, assistant Civil Defence Officer and liaison to Fingal County Council, said at the launch of the event earlier this month that it’s important that people know how to celebrate Halloween in a safe manner.

“We want people and communities to enjoy themselves but enjoy themselves in a safe way and so they can go home with no injuries,” urged Fergus Bryne.

Garda Superintendent Tony Twomey from the Balbriggan District gave his backing for the festival, speaking at the same event launch earlier this month.

“It is important from our point of view to ensure the safety of children so they can enjoy Halloween. We are fully behind events that divert people away from uncontrolled bonfires and illicit fireworks,” said Supt Tony Twomey.

Festivals like these are a welcome change with Halloween night being one of the busiest nights of the year for emergency services.

In Leinster, fire services recorded more than 900 calls last night, most of which were Halloween-related.

Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Dublin Fire Brigade, Greg O'Dwyer, said 368 of the calls were bonfire-related, and another 365 were ambulance calls to deal with injuries to hands and eyes.

Video of a large bonfire in North Dublin tonight #DFBLive #Halloween #Dublin #fire pic.twitter.com/23dHK1W1rn

— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) October 31, 2018

A positive for the fire service was that events organised by local authorities and a garda clamp-down on the collection of items for bonfires this year have seen a fall in the number of injuries.

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