Two deliberate fires every day

That’s the message from a fire chief after figures revealed crews had tackled two arson attacks a day on average in Rotherham in the first six months of this year.

Figures obtained by the Advertiser from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) revealed there were 432 deliberate fires in the borough between January and June — the equivalent of 72 a month.

The team also calculated firefighters spent just under 220 hours at deliberate fires during the same period, which amounts to more than nine days.

And a SYFR spokesperson warned the hourly figure was a “minimum” because the service’s recording system only clocks the amount of time at the incident — meaning if two appliances attended, it was really “two lots of one hour being wasted”.

Last month, the Advertiser reported how reckless children starting a fire for fun were blamed after a Dalton family’s garden gazebo was destroyed in a broad daylight blaze.

Devastated Sue Moore said a neighbour witnessed two boys and a girl in school uniform setting shrubs on fire in the footpath behind her garden on Meadow Close.

The fire then spread to fencing and the wooden gazebo, which was severely damaged.

Last month, we revealed South Yorkshire Fire Brigade Union was calling for change and investment following July’s unprecedented heatwave and a major incident declared in the county.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue called Tuesday, July 19 “a hell of a day” due to the severity and volume of calls they received.

But overnight crews had already dealt with numerous blazes across the area — including a deliberate fire involving grass and bushes in East Dene, and arsonists later targeting a garden in Aston, where firefighters spent about an hour.

And just last weekend, nearly 40 hectares of standing crops at a Kimberworth farm were destroyed in a deliberate blaze which took firefighters over an hour to tackle.

Area manager Matt Gillatt, head of the joint police and fire community safety department, said: “We have been dealing with deliberate fire-setting for many years, so these figures don’t come as a surprise.

“However, they do show quite clearly the impact that arson has on us as a fire service.

“When our crews are dealing with a deliberate fire, they aren’t available to attend another more serious incident.

“Small deliberate fires also very often grow bigger and spread further, causing damage to people’s property and the local landscape.

“There’s also the risk that someone will get genuinely hurt — be that a resident, a passer-by or even one of our firefighters.

“Contrary to popular belief, they are only human.

“All in all, deliberate fires waste time and destroy communities.

“If you know of anyone setting fires on purpose, please get in touch with us via our anonymous FireStoppers reporting service, on 0800 169 5558.”