Warning over deliberate fires

There were more than 150 fires set deliberately in the county last year, Home Office figures show, with a number resulting in the death of people involved.

“Starting fires deliberately in the home is a heinous crime,” said Dave Green, national officer at the Fire Brigades Union.

“Arsonists do not just put the immediate victims at risk; they put whole communities and firefighters themselves in jeopardy.”

Across England, 346 people lost their lives in fires between October 2016 and September 2017, the figures show, including 47 in deliberately started fires. The Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 71 lives, meant the figure was the highest for any 12-month period since the data was first recorded in 2009.

Across Yorkshire and Humber, firefighters were called to attend fires set deliberately, on average, at least once a day last year.

The impact of such fires has sparked concern from civic societies about the protection of the region’s historic buildings, which they say are left “vulnerable” once they fall into disrepair. And unions have warned that not only does it impact on communities, but wastes the time of much-needed fire crews.

“The fire and rescue service is already stretched to the limit in the fire cover they can provide,” added Mr Green. “If firefighters are dealing with an arson at the same time as another fire call comes in, then those other victims are looking at a long wait before we can get to them.”

Official figures show there were more than 400 incidents of arson attended across Yorkshire and the Humber last year.