Appeals issued after spate of woodland fires
Posted on Tuesday 18th June 2019 at 9:41 pm by SH (Editor)The neighbourhood police team in Bradley Stoke is asking parents and carers to speak with their children about the dangers of starting fires after firefighters were called out five times over a period of less than two weeks to deal with small fires in a local wood.
Fire service crews from Patchway, Kingswood and Portishead fire stations attended the incidents, all of which were located in Savages Wood (behind Bradley Stoke leisure Centre). Two of the incidents were separated by less than three hours (on Sunday 12th May).
High pressure hose reels were used to extinguish the fires in three of the incidents with an aqua backpack and a bucket being used in the other two. In all cases, it is thought that the fires had been started deliberately.
Police attendance was not required on 12th May, however, following a further incident on 13th May, they were made aware that fire crews had spoken with teenagers who were in the area about “the risks and dangers of starting fires”.
On Friday 17th May, a member of the public called to report a tree stump had been set on fire in woodland near to the skate park. The call came in just before 7.30pm and patrolling officers attended within five minutes. Fire crews put the fire out by 7.45pm. Police say there were a number of teenagers in the area at the time, however no one was able to identify those responsible for starting the fire.
The Kingswood crew that attended the 13th May incident tweeted a photo showing a pile of large aerosol cans on the woodland floor, with the message: “Spent time emptying and making these aerosol cans inoperable after the fire was out.” It is not clear whether any aerosol cans had been thrown onto the fire. The Journal understands that staff at the nearby Tesco extra store have been asked to be on the alert after someone reported seeing boys buying a large quantity of hair spray aerosol cans at the self-service tills two days earlier.
There have also been reports of youths setting fire to aerosol cans and using them as flame throwers at the nearby skate park.
More: Council says fires, including BBQs, are not permitted on its land »
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