What kind of collateral damage can a bonfire cause? In this situation that took place in Greenisland, County Antrim, a massive amount. Two houses were destroyed and two more damaged after an Eleventh Night bonfire spread to an entire row of dwellings. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service deduced that the most probable cause was accidental ignition from embers carried off the nearby bonfire, according to The Irish News. The houses caught fire just about 15 minutes after the bonfire was lit at midnight on Saturday.
The bonfire had been built on a green with houses on two sides. People in the area said a strong breeze was blowing when it was lit. The fire took hold at the back of the row of houses. The first calls came in from Knockleigh Walk at 12:13 a.m. Sunday.
It took about 40 firefighters and six fire engines on the scene to quell the flames. Two of the houses were destroyed outright, and two others took a massive amount of damage. The fire department completed its investigation and pointed to the embers from the bonfire as the likely cause of the fire that seemingly came out of nowhere.
David Haighton, 87, had lived in one of the destroyed houses for 54 years with his wife, Esther, and was in bed when he saw that a gate at the back of the house was on fire, he told the BBC. He woke his wife and told her to get out. Once they got to safety, the couple watched their home burn. Local residents have set up a GoFundMe for the family to try to assist them with monetary needs.
What the Fire Department Found
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The fire service determined the blaze was accidental, most likely started by embers from the bonfire landing on the houses. Embers can travel well beyond a fire on the wind and settle on roofs, fences, and gardens, where they can ignite anything dry enough to catch. Residents described a strong breeze at the time the bonfire was lit, and the fire first took hold at the rear of the properties.
The timeline was short. The bonfire went up at midnight, and the first emergency calls came less than 15 minutes later. Haighton, who had lived in the house since the early 1970s, said the fire took 54 years of the couple’s life with it. As he put it, “Fifty-four years of our life, all those memories and history, gone.”
What Is the Eleventh Night?
Eleventh Night bonfires are lit in many loyalist areas of Northern Ireland on July 11, the eve of the Twelfth of July. The Twelfth commemorates the victory of William of Orange over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The bonfires are celebratory community events that those who live there hold.
Fire crews handle bonfire-related calls across Northern Ireland every year on the night, much like America’s Fourth of July celebrations. In fact, areas near large bonfires have been boarded up in advance to protect the windows from the heat. When damage does occur, the question of who pays isn’t always simple. The Northern Ireland Office has said it does not operate a bonfire compensation scheme, and responsibility has fallen instead to landowners, councils, and insurers. In this situation, it’s unclear who will bear the brunt of the cash needed for repairs.