Cracker night fires ‘not as bad as last year’ authorities say
FIREFIGHTERS were all hands on deck last night as they battled fires in the aftermath of the firework celebrations from Territory Day
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FIREFIGHTERS were all hands on deck last night as they battled fires in the aftermath of the firework celebrations from Territory Day.
As cracker night got underway, more than 50 fires had spread out across the NT emergency services incident map by 8pm last night.
TOP STORIES
CRACKER chaos as Territory Day celebrations explode
MAN stabbed in stomach during robbery
POPULAR Darwin business closes its door
DARWIN dentist struck off after prescribing drugs to himself
Emergency services responded to a bushfire on the Katherine Airport access road after 4pm, forcing closure to parts of the Stuart Hwy.
Firefighters were still containing the blaze, which disrupted the town’s official Territory Day celebrations at Katherine Showgrounds, late into the night.
Spot fires even flared up in the Darwin CBD, with one grassfire blazing outside Evolution Apartments off Knuckey St at about 7.30pm.
NT Fire and Rescue Service Watch Commander Luigi Cucchiaro said it was another busy night for their firefighters.
OUR best value NT News subscription deal yet: $1 a week for the first 12 weeks
“We did notice that it wasn’t as bad as last year, which may have been due to it being held on a weekend before,” he said.
“We did respond to a reports of a house fire at Cycas Crt, Moulden at about 7.20pm last night after a firework got stuck in a roof but it didn’t any serious structural damage.”
IN OTHER NEWS
A spokeswoman from Top End Health Service said there were 17 burns presentations at emergency departments over night, including seven children.
There were 11 at Royal Darwin Hospital, four at Palmerston Regional Hospital and two at Alice Springs Hospital
St John Ambulance Territory duty manager Craig Garraway said they were called out to three fireworks-related burns.
“We transported two people in Larrakeyah with minor burns to the Royal Darwin Hospital at about 7.20pm,” he said.
“In a separate incident, a male patient was treated for burns to his arms at a residence in Coconut Grove where he had been setting off crackers.”