Deliberate Fires started in West Lothian nearly double in just one year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of deliberate fires started around West Lothian.In the last few months alone the community has been rocked by deliberate fires started in Livingston on Katherine Street, and in Blackburn on Rowan Terrace.Figures by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) show crews were called out to 4287 incidents of deliberate fire-raising between March and April 2021.Three hundred and sixty four of them were across West Lothian and Falkirk, compared to just 188 the previous year.That’s an 86 per cent increase compared to the amount of deliberate fires during the same period last year.A safety campaign has been launched in a bid to highlight the dangers of starting a fire deliberately.Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry, head of prevention and protection for SFRS, 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.

The fact that our firefighters are called to thousands of deliberately set fires each year is completely unacceptable.“These incidents are a needless drain on our resources and can impact on our response to genuine emergencies.”Mr Perry warned that the SFRS will continue to do everything in its power to help Police Scotland trace those risking the safety of communities across Scotland.He added: “It absolutely goes without saying that we want to prevent fires – not fight fires.“As a