Image source, Getty ImagesPolice on patrol in Edinburgh during last year’s Bonfire night public order operation
Police officers are to be embedded in fire stations and will travel with crews to tackle potential attacks on firefighters during Bonfire Night.
The move is part of Scotland’s biggest police operation since the visit of President Donald Trump last summer and a response to a “unique” combination of safety concerns.
As many as 1,700 officers could be deployed to deal with fireworks-related disorder, a European football match involving Celtic and potential protests in Glasgow.
Additional public order vehicles and drivers are being brought in from 18 English and Welsh police forces under mutual aid arrangements.
Emergency services have long recommended organised displays as the safest and often most impressive way of enjoying fireworks.
Where can I watch an organised fireworks display?
Many of the large council-run Bonfire Night events once held across Scotland have disappeared over recent decades because of cost pressures, including insurance, security and stewarding, as well as the complexity of organising large public events.
Glasgow has not held a display at Glasgow Green since before Covid in 2019 and the council-run Bonfire Night display at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Stadium was last held in 2017.
Many clubs and private venues, however, continue to host organised displays throughout Scotland.
According to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) around 20 organised fireworks displays have taken place across Scotland in the last five days with a further 79 planned.
Scotland’s annual public order operation for Halloween and Bonfire Night, known as Operation Moonbeam, is now in its ninth year.
The operation has grown in scale over the years, particularly since an upsurge of disorder in 2023 which left 62 officers injured.
The worst violence occurred in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh where groups of youths attacked officers with fireworks, petrol bombs and other missiles.
Glasgow and Dundee have also seen significant disorder in recent years, and emergency workers have frequently been targeted.
Image source, Press AssociationOperation Amberlight will see police officers accompanying firefighters to callouts in some areas
This year a new initiative, Operation Amberlight, will see police officers based at fire stations in certain areas to better protect emergency crews.
Glasgow and the surrounding area is a particular focus, with police officers working out of 10 fire stations across Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire.
Supt Ross Aitken said: “It’s to provide support to fire service colleagues.
“Should they come under attack then the police officers will be there to support them.
“But it’s also just to provide an effective and efficient response to any incidents that may occur.”
He added: “The vast majority of the public act in a responsible and safe manner, but to the small minority who are intent on engaging in anti-social behaviour and other criminality – we will adopt a robust response to you.”
Since 2024 Fireworks Control Zones (FCZs), which ban the use of pyrotechnics in certain areas, have been used in known troublespots, first in Edinburgh and then in Glasgow the following year.
Under the restrictions, it is a criminal offence to set off a firework within the FCZ boundary or throw one into a zone.
SFRS Commander Mark Cleland said: “If you look at the incident stats over the last few years there’s certainly been benefit from the fireworks control zones.
“And there’s been an increase in control zones from 12 to 18 this year so hopefully we will see a further reduction in antisocial behaviour within these zones.”
Last year, the fire service took around 750 calls on Bonfire Night and attended more than 250 bonfires.
Between 31 October and 5 November 2025, police said just over 830 calls needed a local or specialist response.
But that figure was down by more than a third on the previous year.
Cleland said: “For firefighters we have dealt with anti-social behaviour on occasions, it tends to be the minority but what we want is our personnel and our staff who are out on Thursday night to ensure that they go home safely to their families.
“They are mums, dads, brothers and sisters just the same as everybody else in the community and we really want our crews to make it home safe.”
So far this year, there has been a modest decrease in fireworks-related calls to police on Halloween.
A total of 144 were received on Saturday night, down from 160 in 2025.
But there have been more serious incidents, including one where a firework landed near a pram in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow, leaving a child badly shaken.
And in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, there were reports of fireworks being thrown in the high street.
Two male youths have since been charged.
On Tuesday police seized 350kg of fireworks worth about £12,000 from an address in the Penilee area of Glasgow.
Officers said they were being sold online, with some having the capacity to fire 600 individual rockets.
Glasgow continued to see Bonfire Night disorder in 2025
This year’s Bonfire Night operation will see police coping with two further challenges, both in Scotland’s biggest city.
Celtic will take on Turkish side Besiktas in a Uefa Europa League match at Celtic Park, which kicks off at 20:00.
Officers say they are also aware of images circulating online, suggesting “planned protest activity” will also take place in Glasgow the same night.
Supt Aitken said: “So that intelligence picture just continues to develop and that will be fed into the planning team so that we can adapt our response.
“There are a number of competing events that are going to take place on Thursday.
“But I can give that assurance that we have proportionate policing plans in place to deal with that.”
Keeping pets and other animals safe
Animal welfare organisations regularly highlight the distress fireworks can cause to pets, livestock and wildlife.
Two years ago Edinburgh Zoo said a three-month-old red panda called Roxie had probably died from stress linked to Bonfire Night fireworks.
Image source, RZSSTwo years ago a baby red panda called Roxie is believed to have died as a result of stress brought on by fireworks in Edinburgh
The zoo now falls within a firework control zone, which it welcomed as a positive step forward.
Ben Supple, deputy chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland which runs the zoo, said this was only part of the solution.
“Ahead of Bonfire Night, we would ask members of the public to be mindful of the impact fireworks can have on animals and to avoid setting them off near the zoo or in areas where they may cause distress to wildlife and pets,” he said.
The Scottish SPCA has called for a UK-wide ban on the private sale and use of fireworks, and a 90 decibel noise limit as an interim measure, down from the current 120db limit.
The charity advises pet owners to keep animals inside after dark,, external closing windows doors and curtains, and having music playing or the TV on during a nearby display.
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