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School holidays spark surge in deliberate fires

Fire crews at the scene of last week's malicious blaze at Baxter Park's bowling pavilion.
Fire crews at the scene of last week's malicious blaze at Baxter Park's bowling pavilion.

Firefighters in Dundee are being called half-a-dozen times every night to deliberate fires.

Lighter nights and the Easter holidays have resulted in a spike in the level of callouts for crews to incidents at which youths have set fires on purpose.

Fire chiefs say that at other times of year they usually receive one call per night at most for fire-raising.

But the arrival of the school holidays has meant they are receiving calls to incidents at a rate of around six per night.

Martin Tait, Dundee group manager at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We want the public to have an enjoyable break over the Easter period and also a safe one.

“Over the next few months we’ll typically see an increase in the number of deliberate fires.

“We ask residents and businesses to ensure that rubbish does not accumulate outside their property and that wheelie bins are stored in a safe and secure area until collection.

“Bin and rubbish fires can quickly take hold and spread to buildings and vehicles, posing a major risk to life and property.

“We continue to conduct a lot of work in the area to reduce the occurrence of deliberate fires.

“Often these are started by younger people and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been proactive in delivering youth education and engagement activities targeting areas where historically we have encountered the most activity.

“We also continue to work in partnership with a range of other organisations, such as Police Scotland, community safety wardens and the environmental and housing departments, and use a range of tactical options to make our communities safer.

“The public can help them to keep people safe by heeding our safety advice and sharing it with others.”

On Thursday night firefighters were called to Baxter Park to tackle a blaze at an old pavilion.

A second incident at Broughty Ferry beach was caused by a number youths using aerosol cans to set fire to a patch of grass.

Police are also investigating Monday’s major blaze at the former Strathmartine Hospital on the outskirts of the city. Although no cause has been confirmed, the derelict site has for a long time been a target of vandals.