Firefighters were deployed twice on Sunday to a bonfire in the Cregagh estate, east Belfast, after it was lit days before the traditional Eleventh Night celebrations.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service received a report at 10:50am that the pyre had been ignited. Two crews from Knock First Station attended and spent almost three hours attempting to control the fire before leaving at 1:45pm. A further crew returned at 2:35pm to apply foam and departed at 3:15pm. A service spokesman said once such structures are alight, they are extremely difficult to fully extinguish due to the manner of construction. Crews left the scene when there was no longer an immediate danger to life or property.

East Belfast PUP representative Helen Smyth said the premature lighting was a disgrace, particularly given the preparation work carried out by young volunteers. A loyalist social media account reported that the fire is believed to have been started deliberately, describing it as an attack on a community tradition and on local volunteers. The same page urged bonfire committees across Northern Ireland to maintain vigilance, monitor sites, and report any suspicious activity.

Other recent premature bonfire incidents in the area have drawn official concern. At the end of June, a pyre built on Skipper Street play park was lit, causing significant burn damage to the surface. Local councillors called the damage unacceptable. Separately, a public library in the Granton Park area of Tullycarnet is to be boarded up again after bonfire builders confirmed they plan to burn an Eleventh Night pyre in the adjacent car park, as occurred in 2024 and previous years.

The Fire and Rescue Service said it is intensifying engagement with communities across Northern Ireland on bonfire safety and precautions ahead of the Twelfth of July celebrations.