North Yorkshire Police's Chief Constable has stressed that tackling arson and other fires requires a joint effort between police, the fire service, and local authorities, following a rise in incidents at this time of year.
Arson and other fires are not solely the responsibility of the fire service to tackle, according to the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police.
Tim Forber has emphasised that his police force, alongside the local authority, has a highly significant role to play in preventing and dealing with fires across the region.
His comments come exactly a year after the devastating Langdale wildfire, serving as a stark reminder of the severe damage that can be caused to rural landscapes when fires break out.
The Chief Constable admits that the number of fires typically rises around this time of year, driven by a combination of deliberate criminal acts and careless behaviour from the public.
He warns that everyday items left behind in the countryside can quickly become major hazards when the surrounding vegetation is dry.
North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Tim Forber said:
"We know at this time of year that we do see an increase increase in this this sort of thing and some of it is deliberate offending, some of it is about discarded barbecues, people not disposing of litter properly, you know, you leave a glass bottle in a rural area where there is Tinder box vegetation that can cause a fire quite easily. In terms of do we work closer with the fire service, absolutely we do. We offer a program now where we make sure that any instance of fire that they attend where there's a suggestion it's deliberate ignition or there's a suspicion of that that is reported to us by the fire service we can get an accurate picture of what's going on."
To robustly combat the issue, North Yorkshire Police has implemented a joint problem-solving plan in close collaboration with the fire service and other local partners.
This multi-agency approach includes targeted police patrols and educational initiatives aimed at young people to prevent future incidents before they occur.
A key component of this strategy is the reinstated fire safe intervention program, which seeks to balance strict enforcement with necessary education and safeguarding measures.
Furthermore, regular monthly meetings are held to closely monitor anti-social behaviour trends and identify specific hotspots that require immediate attention from authorities.
Tim Forber explained:
"With our joint problem-solving plan, we do undertake some some targeted patrols, we refer young people into the fire safe intervention program, you know, which balances enforcement with education, deals with prevention and safeguarding aspect of that. That's now been reinstated. There's more than 20 people been referred into that scheme since it was reinstated earlier on earlier on this year. There is a monthly anti-social behaviour fires meeting that's chaired by the director of community risk and resilience within the within the fire service that we're involved. So that makes sure that we have got good oversight of hot spots trends and can make sure that we provide effective problem-solving around that. It's not just the fire service. I will say this again. Particularly where we're looking at bin fires, the local authority have got a role to play in this."
The collaborative effort aims to ensure that dangerous hotspots are identified early and that effective problem-solving measures are put in place to protect communities across North Yorkshire.
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