The ‘on-call’ firefighters were attending a fire at the Department for Infrastructure site after a vehicle had been set on fire
Carrington Walker and James Martin McCarthy
20:59, 15 Jun 2026
The incident was captured on live tv(Image: Sky News)
Two on‐call firefighters have been suspended after being filmed pushing each other while attending a blaze during disorder in Belfast.
The incident occurred as crews responded to a vehicle fire in Newtownabbey, at a Department for Infrastructure site, with Sky News helicopter footage showing the pair shoving one another before a colleague intervened. The fire was started during unrest near the Sandyknowes roundabout.
The footage appeared to show the two individuals shoving one another on two separate occasions before a fellow firefighter was forced to intervene and pull them apart, Belfast Live reports.
Firefighters start fighting while putting out fire during second night of riots on Wednesday (Image: Sky News)
A source close to those involved told Belfast Live that the pair were “best mates”, insisting the incident had simply been “banter” between them and that they were merely “messing about”.
Sources suggest that upon returning to the station following the fire, the crew were informed that the altercation had been broadcast on television and were asked to submit statements while continuing to attend calls.
When the two firefighters turned up to the station for their weekly training session on Thursday evening, it is believed they were told they had been suspended on full pay. They were subsequently asked to hand back their pagers before being escorted from the building.
A NIFRS spokesperson said: “We do not comment on individual employee matters.”
Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives… To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.