Fire raising figures down - but still 752
Firefighters have been called to hundreds of deliberate fires across South Lanarkshire over the past year, latest figures reveal.
757 deliberate secondary fires – involving rubbish, grassland and derelict property – were reported to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service between April 2017 and March this year.
That is the lowest number since the formation of the single service five years ago, when firefighters responded to 1143 deliberate secondary fires.
That means figures have dropped by more than 30 per cent since 2013.
The stats also showed a fall in the number of accidental house fires in South Lanarkshire over the past three years. 243 were reported between April 2017 and March, down from 267 in 2014/15.
Alan Fairbairn, senior officer for South Lanarkshire, told the Reformer: “This reduction is a clear result of our long-term preventative partnership working to address the close link between these incidents and anti-social behaviour.
“We are never complacent and we will continue to make every effort to drive these figures down further.”
Mr Fairbairn went on: “Deliberate fires put unnecessary pressure on firefighters when genuine emergencies arise and could place lives at risk.
“We work closely with our partners to educate our communities on the dangers of deliberate fire raising and in tracing anyone involved in this unacceptable behaviour.
“We ask local residents and businesses to ensure that rubbish does not accumulate outside their property and that wheelie bins are stored in a safe and secure area until collection.”
South Lanarkshire crews also attended more than 1200 unwanted fire alarm signals (UFAS) last year, a reduction of six per cent on the year before.
UFAS incidents involve equipment failure or false alarms.