Councils working with fire chiefs to reduce blazes

Local authorities join battle to lower number of deliberate infernos

- STEPHEN BARK

Councils in Ayrshire are working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as they bid to reduce the number of deliberate fires in the county.

We previously revealed deliberate fire setting in the county had increased by almost 50 per cent in the first seven months of the year.

That trend hasn't gone unnoticed and councils, in conjunction with the fire service, are working hard to try and combat the issue.

Letters have been distributed to businesses in Kilmarnock about unsecure rubbish following the devastating impact of the King Street fire and the fire service now use the letter as part of their toolkit when attending similar fires.

Further work by East Ayrshire Council has targeted home owners and businesses to raise awareness of the risks from deliberate fire raising and provide guidance on simple measures that could be taken to minimise these risks.

Education initiatives such as East Ayrshire's FireSkills programme and the work done by South Ayrshire's joint action groups increase engagement with young people on key safety issues.

South Ayrshire Council are also running their "highly successful" Bonfire Watch initiative which has reduced the number of unlicensed bonfires in the area.