Deliberate fires in Renfrewshire at five-year high as figures almost double from previous year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Deliberate fires in the Renfrewshire region have almost doubled and are now the highest recorded in five years.Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews ackled 364 deliberate blazes in East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde from February to April last year.This is almost double than during the same period in 2020, in which fire crews were mobilised to 188 incidents - a rise of 94 per cent.The figures, which have been released to coincide with the SFRS Spring Safety campaign, are at a five-year high.In 2017, a total of 274 deliberate fires were recorded during the same three month period, lowering to 156 in 2018.The statistics shot up in 2019 to 334.Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire.

Sign up to our newsletters here.In Scotland, SFRS crews were mobilised to a total of 4,287 incidents of deliberate fire-raising between March and April 2021.The 4,287 deliberate fires were largely comprised of outdoor incidents impacting fields, refuse, and countryside, but also involved hundreds of building and vehicle fires.This behaviour could place lives at risk, warned Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry, Head of Prevention and Protection for SFRS.DACO Perry said: “We take a zero-tolerance approach to deliberate fire-raising and it is a small minority of individuals who are potentially putting themselves, our firefighters and innocent bystanders at risk of serious harm and injury.“Make no mistake – fire can cause injury and death, it can be devastating to properties, businesses and the environment.“Last year, we witnessed a shocking rise in deliberate fire-raising during the Spring period.