Firefighters have been left bemused after a grass fire near Lichfield was the first of 26 blazes deliberately started across Staffordshire in one day.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service saw 19 crews tackling grass fires around the county yesterday (August 22).
The first of the blazes happened at Hopwas Woods at around 1.15pm, with the last one being tackled shortly before 9pm at Trentham Lakes.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s head of risk reduction, Ian Sloss, said:
“Firefighters from across the county spent 17 hours tackling deliberately started fires yesterday. Why do people do this? Do they think it’s funny, or clever?
“These people need to realise the seriousness of their actions, they are tying up emergency resources which could be needed elsewhere for a genuine emergency, they are endangering firefighters’ lives as well as members of the public and their own lives and they are also destroying many of Staffordshire’s beauty spots.
“What the perpetrators probably don’t realise is that deliberately starting a fire, no matter how small, is a serious crime whether it is a small grass fire or a severe house fire. We do everything in our power and work with the police to catch these criminals – all of our appliances are fitted with CCTV cameras which will be used as evidence where necessary. If the person who started the fire is prosecuted they could face a sentence in prison or a young offender’s institution.”
A spokesperson from Staffordshire Police added:
“We treat all incidents of arson very seriously – including grass fires that have been started deliberately. Such fires not only put people and property at risk, they also divert essential emergency services from other members of the public who require help. Messing around with fire could cost yours or someone else’s life and result in prosecution and a potential prison sentence.”
Anyone with information on people responsible for deliberately starting grass fires should contact Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
