Firestarters are still a problem
Althoughblazenumbersaredown, four out of five are started on purpose
STEPHEN BARK
Almost four in five fires attended by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in South Lanarkshire are started deliberately.
Over the last five years, 4752 fires have been purposely set in the area – 79 per cent of the total number of fires the SFRS has responded to.
A consistent decline since 2014-15 means that the service is attending fewer incidents each year, with the total number of fires down by 13 per cent.
Overall, the number of deliberate fires is down by 16 per cent. Station commander Alistair Stewart said that although a large proportion of fires were deliberate, the picture was improving.
He said: “The percentage of activity is quite high, but for the last five years the trend line has been dropping.
“If we can keep that going – and no one is saying that we can get it to absolute zero – but if we can get it as close as possible to that. “We are moving in the right direction. “Bearing in mind, that is over a fiveyear period.
“Our community action team have a programme of engagement sessions and last year we had the largest uptake of schools taking on the presentations.
“The most significant positive reductions have been since 2016 and that would tie in with when our community action teams were properly formed.”
The figures were revealed in a review of the South Lanarkshire local fire and rescue plan.
Station commander John Divers said that the deliberate fires they have tackled included bin, rubbish and car fires.
He added: “It’s a challenge and it is always going to be a challenge.”
No one’s saying we can get it to zero ... but we’re moving in right direction