Work under way to tackle deliberate fires
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue ServiceFire chiefs have stressed that work is taking place to tackle deliberate fires, as figures show incidents rose by a third compared to the previous year.
A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service report outlined how, from 1 April to 30 September, 3,610 deliberate fires were recorded, up by about 33% from 2,709 during the previous 12 months.
Sunderland had the highest number of deliberate fires, with 1,130 incidents in the six-month period, an increase of about 54% compared to the 732 the previous year.
Reports from fire service bosses outlined that deliberate fires were an "ongoing concern" and the issue was the "focus of prevention and education work".
The total number of fires over that summer period was also higher than the 2,734 deliberate incidents registered in the same period in 2023/24, according to figures which went to the latest meeting of the fire authority's policy and performance committee.
Additional patrols
The report outlined how all districts across the fire service area recorded more deliberate blazes than during the same period the previous year.
Newcastle saw the second highest number of deliberate fires, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Initiatives to tackle the issue in Sunderland included identifying hotspot areas, additional patrols by police neighbourhood teams and walkabouts to engage with local youths, the report added.
Across the region, 87% of deliberate blazes over the period were classed as secondary fires, which are small outdoor fires not involving property, while 13% were primary fires, which are larger incidents.
The most common type of deliberate fire across Tyne and Wear were those involving grass, woodland and crops, which accounted for 1,467 of the recorded blazes, followed by other outdoor incidents, including land, with 1,007.
Meanwhile, there were 677 deliberate fires involving outdoor structures and 200 involving cars.
