Firestarters in Coalisland condemned after fire crew tackle burning tyre blaze next to oil tank

In one incident, disaster was narrowly averted when a fire crew was called to tackle the blaze.

Councillor Joe O’Neill has condemned the anti-social behaviour, which he said endangered lives.

“I would just like to get a message across to these young lads with Halloween just a few weeks away. I can’t stress enough the dangers of burning tyres with all the toxic fumes that come off the tyres and in one of these areas a tyre was lit close to a resident’s oil tank, which is complete madness in my opinion.”

The Sinn Fein representative warned that the incident had potentially diverted emergency services from dealing with other life-threatening incidents.

“I would ask that parents highlight the dangers of this behaviour to their children. I also want to bring it to the attention of tyre garage owners and farmers to keep their stock of tyres locked up especially in the run up to Halloween.”

The councillor said he wanted all local children to enjoy the Halloween period. “There are a lot of local activities happening so why not get involved in helping out in your local community”, he said.