LONDON, ONT.— Disgust and extreme disapproval were running high in London, Ont., Sunday after an intoxicated crowd of St. Patrick's Day revellers spent the previous night fuelling a huge street fire and attacking authorities who tried to intervene.

A five-hour-long riot broke out on Fleming Dr., near Fanshawe College, as hundreds of revellers, fuelled by a sun-filled day of drinking, set objects on fire and attacked police and fire department crews as they arrived on the scene.

“It started with several parties in this neighbourhood. At one point, about 10 p.m., we got reports of a couple different fires in the neighbourhood,” London Police Service Insp. Chris Newton explained.

PHOTOS: St. Patrick's Day riot in London, Ont..

“Our first crew got here at 11:30 p.m. and tried to get in to put the fire out,” London Fire Department District Chief Jim Holmes said. “But they were pushed back by the crowd. There were lots of bottles flying, other object, rocks and everything.”

The damage to street pavements, vehicles and lights is estimated to be $100,000. Seventeen police vehicles were damaged.

London police chief Brad Duncan said the riot was the worst violence he had seen in the city in his 32-year career.

“It was clearly an act of civil disobedience directed toward emergency personnel,” Duncan said Sunday.

Many police officers were struck in the head. Fortunately, they were wearing helmets. However, some suffered soft-tissue injuries to their limbs. They were subjected to the sound of glass hitting the pavement for several hours. Wooden planks, debris, tires and full bottles of liquor were thrown at them.

Duncan said London has experienced unlawful assemblies in the past, but in general, when police declare the gathering as unlawful and ask people to remain in the area, people comply. On Saturday night, however, there was a “complete disregard for police presence.”

“I heard some of our officers refer to it as a war zone last night. They never experienced that kind of volatility.”

Eleven people were arrested through the course of the evening and charged with unlawful behaviour, assaulting police and resisting arrest. Seven of those arrested have been identified as Fanshawe College students.

Police expect that there will be more arrests as their investigation continues and tips pour in. Some people wrote about their involvement in the riot on Facebook and Twitter, including confessions of flipping cars and lighting a TV news van on fire.

A CTV news vehicle was overturned and set on fire with the large crowd gathering around it, some even dancing.

Under attack, fire officials asked for more police assistance to help get them out of the neighbourhood safely. As more fire crews and police in riot gear arrived on the scene, they were stymied in their attempts to gain control of the situation due to the large and aggressive crowd.

“With that large of a group of revellers in the street, it became very aggressive,” Newton said, adding the crowd ranged in numbers from 300 or 400, up to a 1,000 people at the peak of the riot.

There were 50 police officers on the ground, and Duncan said they would have increased the volatility of the situation if they had tried to engage the crowd. They had to wait for things to gradually abate.

Police said the cost of the damage inflicted by the intoxicated crowd is approximated at $100,000.

Seventeen police vehicles were damaged from last night's activities. Fire trucks on the scene also suffered some scratches and dents from the bricks and beer bottles that were hurled at the vehicles.

A number of smaller fires were also reported in other parts of the city, but none compared to the huge blaze that drew the largest crowd.

“They started pelting police cruisers and personnel with bottles and rocks, etc. At that time we had to call in reinforcements to get those vehicles and officers out of the neighbourhood,” said Newton.

A line of police behind riot shields took up position across the corner of Fanshawe College Blvd. and Fleming Dr. for the duration of the five-hour standoff.

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The 40 metres of Fleming Dr. separating the two groups quickly became a no-man’s land of broken glass and empty beer cans as rioters continued to hurl objects at police throughout the standoff.

“Because of the numbers and behaviour of the people involved, there wasn’t much more we could do other than stand back, contain the situation and monitor the fire to ensure it wasn’t putting any homes or persons at risk,” Newton said.

Although things were out of hand, it could have become even worse when a rioter picked up a propane tank and threw it into the fire.

“When we saw the person throw it in the fire we all backed up a little bit,” Holmes said.

The contents of the propane tank vented instead of exploding and no one was injured. It was a pivotal moment, however, as the crowd was warned to get back for their own safety. They eventually started dispersing allowing police to get control of the situation shortly after 4 a.m.

“We went in with the police and extinguished the fire as they pushed the crowd back,” Holmes said.

The Fleming Dr. area east of Fanshawe College is known for similar disturbances in the past, although not on this level. Going forward, Duncan said police will increase their presence in the neighbourhood and that there will be zero tolerance for liquor violations.

Duncan urged the parents of those involved in the riot to talk to their children to let them know that this kind of mob mentality can easily result in death.

London’s mayor Joe Fontana asked the rioters involved to come forward, and for those who don’t, he said they would be found, and that “all force of the law will be brought upon them. They will pay.”

Victoria Mladenovski, a student who moved to London from Calgary, was “completely shocked” but what she saw, calling it “nonsense.”

With shattered beer bottles everywhere, there were people in the crowd walking around with blood trickling from wounds and some suffering minor burns.

“People are walking around with glass in their legs. It’s been going on for four hours,” Mladenovski said. “This guy just got glass to his eye, maybe an inch and a half thick, right his under his eye, he just ran home and he was going to go to the emergency room.

“Welcome to London, eh.”

With files from the Canadian Press