Fire stats shocker
And county fire crews battle 1134 blazes
Shock statistics have revealed that arsonists started hundreds of fires in West Lothian last year.
Thugs deliberately set 763 properties, cars and bins alight, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s annual incidents report.
One person died and five were injured in intentional fires while a further 29 injuries occurred as a result of accidental fires.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said:“The public has a vital role to play by alerting us to instances of deliberate fire raising and also by putting us in touch with anyone who could be vulnerable to fire.”
Firefighters tackled over 700 deliberately started fires across West Lothian last year.
Shock figures released in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s annual incidents report show that crews battled 1134 blazes in the county between April 2015 and April this year.
Alarmingly 763 houses, commercial properties, derelict buildings, cars and rubbish bins were set alight on purpose by vandals.
And 85 hoax calls were made to fire crews by malicious timewasters.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “Firefighters in every community strive to raise awareness of risk, ensure properties are protected and help people take steps to stay safe across West Lothian.
“The public has a vital role to play by alerting us to instances of deliberate fire raising and also by putting us in touch with anyone who could be vulnerable to fire.
“That partnership is absolutely crucial to protecting every community. We see, very clearly, what these statistics are telling us and we are absolutely committed to harnessing this intelligence picture.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will use them to ensure we continue to play our part in meeting the changing nature of risk across the country.”
Deliberate fires resulted in one death and five non-fatal casualties and there were 29 people injured as a result of 367 accidental infernos.
Including malicious hoax calls, crews attended 2002 false alarms
The report also showed that firefighters attended 93 road traffic collisions over the year as well as 23 floods and 35 medical incidents.
There were six suicide attempts and 106 people who were locked in or out of their homes called firefighters.
The spokeswoman added: “It is extremely disappointing when someone knowingly makes a malicious call - those who do so are breaking the law.
“We will actively work to identify them and pass that intelligence to our Police Scotland partners.
“But we have also found that education is one of the most effective weapons in our prevention armoury and we continue to work hard with our partners in West Lothian to reduce this dangerous behaviour.”
Almond Valley MSP Angela Constance said: “A fire, whether accidental or not, is frightening and our firefighters are to be thanked for their efforts to put these out.
“The fire service continues to educate people about how to prevent fires, including installing smoke alarms in homes which helps to reduce casualties and damage.
“However, deliberately starting a fire cannot be tolerated.
“The thought that people may be injured, or even killed, in an accidental fire which has occurred while our fire fighters are dealing with a deliberate one, is a situation that should not happen.”
Lothian MSP Neil Findlay said: “The fire and rescue service play a vital role in preventing fires and keeping us safe when fire breaks out.
“These statistics show how important the service is.
“The Scottish Government should be investing in the fire and rescue service not cutting its budget.”