Belfast firefighters suspended after ‘tussling’ on reside TV throughout ‘tried beheading’ riots
Two Belfast firefighters have been suspended after they were reportedly caught in an altercation on live TV during disorder in Newtownabbey last week. The victim of the knife attack is still in hospital
The firefighters have been suspended after the altercation(Image: Sky News)
Two firefighters, who were filmed “tussling” during last week’s unrest, have been suspended.
The pair, both reported to be “on-call” firefighters, had been responding to a fire at the Department for Infrastructure site after a vehicle was set ablaze. The arson attack occurred during disturbances near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey when the incident was captured on camera by the Sky News helicopter.
The video seemed to show the individuals pushing each other twice before another firefighter had to intervene and separate them. A source close to those involved told Belfast Live that they were “best mates” and insisted that the incident was actually “banter” between the two and that they were merely “messing about”.
Sources suggest that upon returning to the station after tackling the fire, they were informed that the incident had been aired on TV and they were asked to provide statements amidst attending calls, reports Belfast Live.
When the two individuals arrived at the station for their weekly training session on Thursday evening, it is believed they were told they had been suspended on full pay. They were then asked to return their pagers and escorted off the premises.
A NIFRS spokesperson stated: “We do not comment on individual employee matters.”
The condition of the Belfast stabbing victim is “improving” and he could be woken from a coma within the next 48 hours, his family have said. Stephen Ogilvie lost his left eye and suffered deep cuts to his head, face and back in a stabbing attack on Monday which preceded two nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
Twelve police officers were injured, 16 arrests were made and two people were charged after Wednesday night’s unrest. An incident in which a nurse was chased and intimidated while on her way to work at Ulster Hospital was also condemned, as Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said “law and order will be coming” for those who engaged in disorder.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson, MP for Belfast East, said he met the parents of Mr Ogilvie on Thursday, and the family were “broken” after what had happened to their son.
“They have spoken very powerfully, in my view, that their desire is that what happened to their son on Monday evening is not used as an excuse for intimidation or division within our society,” Mr Robinson said at Stormont.
“They have asked me to share that, while their son remains in a coma, his condition is improving.
“They hope, pray and trust that he will be released from that coma within the next 24 or 48 hours, at which point assessments will be made about his sight and other impacts from the atrocity that happened on Monday evening.
“They are grateful for support, but they particularly are calling for an end to the misinformation, the falsehoods and the lies that are only making a very difficult situation all the worse.”
Hadi Alodid, 30, was in court on Wednesday, facing charges of attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack.
Since then, mobs have set homes, a bus and cars ablaze in Belfast on Tuesday, with individuals targeted based on their race.
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