The community of the Suffolk Road came together on Thursday afternoon to send a message of support to the Fire Service.
Scores of children, as young as five, welcomed crews to Glen Parent Community Complex today with banners and signs of gratitude. It comes after the latest attack on the service resulted in a crew member's nose being cut along with a number of smashed windows on their appliance.
They were attacked by youths with bricks as they were responding to an incident report on the Suffolk Road.
Read more: Firefighter injured as crew attacked by youths in Belfast
Speaking to Belfast Live, NIFRS Station Commander Davy Harbinson said: "We are here on the back of an attack where the front windscreen and side window of an appliance were smashed. That resulted in a fire fighter receiving injuries.
"We are here to engage with the community and to try and reach out to those who are attacking us, to show them the good work we do within the fire service. We are here to support people, everybody in society. I am reaching out to all community based groups to put the word out there that we are here to do a job.
"Our job is hard enough, let alone being attacked on our way to do the job. We have to worry about the fire, and our own personal safety. Our protection doesn't protect against bricks and bottles, it protects against fire.
"This is a good way to engage with the children in the area, so they can too can put the word out.
"The people in West Belfast, and indeed all across Belfast, are overwhelmingly supportive of the work that the fire service do. This is a small, small minority of people, for whatever reason, attacking the fire service.
"I can only have praise for the people of Belfast for the support they give to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service."
Paul Niblock. youth coordinator at Glen Community Parent Youth Group told Belfast Live that the community will throw all their support behind the fire service.
The group has been working in partnership with IFRS for over a decade, during that time they have had young people on work placement with NIFRS and also took part in eight TV advertisements highlighting the issues of firework misuse, gorse fire danger and attacks on crew.
He said: "We want to give a clear message to everybody, that these attacks are not what this community is about.
"The education to young people is the key to stopping attacks. That is why we invited them out today, to work with our kids at such a young age. And I want to make it very clear that this is a small slight on this community. This is not what this community is about.
"This community is about helping people. Local residents, young people and youth and community workers were appalled by the recent attack on the fire service. We are pleading with the small number of people invovled in this anti-community behaviour to stop now.
"We will continue to work in partnership with the fire service on education programmed for our young people and want to give our thanks to the service for its work."
Video by Belfast Live Videographer Dylan Hegarty.
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