New Year’s Eve was a busy night for back-up fire crews during a six-hour firefighters’ strike.

There were 18 call-outs across West Yorkshire during the walk-out, which included rescuing a casualty from a car crash in Leeds Road, Bradford, and visiting a home in Ranelagh Avenue, Ravenscliffe where a firework had gone through a window.

The strike, one of a series taken in a row over pensions, ran from 6.30pm on New Year’s Eve to 12.30am on New Year’s Day.

The fire service manned 24 of its 54 fire engines across West Yorkshire, staffed by those who were not striking and ‘community response operatives’ who have been given three weeks’ training.

At 6.28pm, crews were called to a small fire in a lorry’s engine at commercial premises in Grangefield Industrial Estate, Pudsey.

The next calls were at 7.01pm, to a rubbish fire in Bowling Back Lane, Bradford, and 7.27pm, to a Liversedge play area fire.

At 7.51pm, the back-up staff quelled a blaze in Manningham, Bradford.

One call was not classed as a fire, but as a ‘special service call’. This was in Brighouse, where a leak in a home was affecting electrics.

And at 9.25pm, staff were called to a crash between two cars in Leeds Road, Bradford. One person had to be freed and taken to hospital.

A fire service spokesman said while none of the incidents were classed as major, the contingency crews “experienced a late flurry of calls in the last hour of the strike”.

Chief Fire Officer Simon Pilling said: “We would like to thank the public for taking heed of our advice and staying safe during the period of reduced cover.”

The next strike is anticipated tomorrow from 6.30am to 8.30am.