WORK will be stepped up in schools across Barnsley in an effort to avoid a repeat of this summer’s ‘unprecedented’ arson figures, it has been revealed.
It comes after 95 call-outs to deliberate grassland blazes recorded as ‘serious’ by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were carried out between July 30 and August 31 - more than double the previous year’s statistics.
The majority, fire crews say, were started by youngsters and three of the most serious - at Dodworth, Monk Bretton and Lundwood - damaged properties and ‘decimated’ wildlife.
Following an outcry from residents affected, fire crews are set to head into schools to talk about the impact the call-outs - the highest on record - have had.
Simon Brookes, community safety manager for SYFR, said: “The figures represent a significant rise on last year’s so inevitably we’re keen to address that and put measures in place long before next summer’s school holidays.
“It’s been an unprecedented period and it’s one that’s been the worst on record for deliberate grassland fires. No-one can be certain as to why that’s the case but what we can do is get into schools and warn youngsters about the impact these fires have.
“June and July had long spells of hot, dry weather and that means grass is more susceptible to burning, as we saw on multiple occasions when initially small fires spread and turned into something much bigger.
“Youngsters have been seen at areas where fires have been started and parents must be questioning them when they are heading home smelling of smoke.”
Although incidents in parks, allotments, moorlands and woodlands remained at about three per month for the period, fires started on parkland, scrubland and farmers’ fields have risen dramatically across Barnsley, with a particular hotspot on Littleworth Lane’s park at Lundwood.
That remains a key area for fire crews and South Yorkshire Police, whose PCSOs continue to patrol to deter any would-be arsonists from attempting to start more fires.
The Chronicle understands Outwood Academy in Shafton, the main high school for children living in Lundwood, will be the main focus for fire officers.
“Ultimately people’s lives have been put at risk this summer because of what’s been happening with youths in parklands,” Simon added. “What is important is that we don’t have a repeat of that.”
Crews from Cudworth station responded to 19 grassland incidents in Lundwood in July alone - a figure that’s had a detrimental impact on a greenspace once rich in wildlife according to volunteers.
“We’ve been told Littleworth Lane has been the worst-hit in the whole of Barnsley by crews who have attended,” one volunteer, who did not wish to be named, told the Chronicle. “Hundreds of hours of time and effort has been undone by needless fires started by youngsters.
“The amount of damage, not just in Lundwood but right across Barnsley, has been appalling.”
