A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after fireworks were fired at firefighters and police officers attending a blaze at Knowsley Heights, near Liverpool. Emergency services were called shortly before 7pm after reports of fireworks being directed at the high-rise building. Fire crews quickly extinguished a blaze on a third-floor balcony, but during the operation fireworks were launched towards emergency workers. A female police officer suffered a minor leg injury, and a teenager was also treated for firework burns. Merseyside Police confirmed the boy was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Chief inspector Kevin Chatterton condemned the 'disgraceful' attack, saying it was only by sheer good fortune that no one was seriously injured. Knowsley Council leader Graham Morgan praised the professionalism of emergency services and vowed to hold those responsible to account. The fire service urged the public to respect first responders, warning that violence against them will not be tolerated.

West Yorkshire fire service received 23 flood-related calls on Wednesday, the day after over a hundred people had been rescued in Northern Ireland (NI) after being trapped by overnight flooding. In Londonderry and Tyrone 93 people were trapped in cars or homes by floods. At one point the NI fire service received emergency calls every 45 seconds. 63% of the average August rainfall fell in nine hours. The coastguard rescued over thirty people, with helicopters brought in from Scotland, Wales and Sligo. Three thousand homes were without power after lightning struck transformers, bridges collapsed, and Derry Airport was flooded. The NI department for infrastructure said the Red Cross and Western Trust had organised temporary accommodation centres. Emergency financial assistance, administered by councils, will help residents significantly affected by flooding within their homes.

Rescuers do not expect further survivors in the block of flats engulfed by fire on 14-15 June. At the time of writing 17 are confirmed dead, and there are ‘unknown numbers’ of people in the smouldering ruins of Grenfell Tower, Kensington. Pray for the friends and relatives desperately seeking news of the missing. Thirty people remain in hospital; pray for God to be with the nurses, doctors, clinicians and families of the patients. Tributes are being paid to the bravery of the emergency services and members of the public who assisted. Pray for those suffering from trauma to receive appropriate care - particularly those who had to watch while others burned in the inferno. There has been an overwhelmingly generous response to the tragedy - see It is too early to speculate what caused the fire or contributed to its spread, but health, safety and fire prevention concerns had been raised by residents. Pray for the forthcoming investigations.