More than 600 cars deliberately torched last year
More than 600 vehicles were torched deliberately across West Midlands in a year, fire service figures show.
Over the course of a decade, fire crews in the area were called out to over 7,000 deliberate vehicle fires, 642 of them last year.
In Staffordshire, more than 150 vehicles were torched deliberately across the county in a year, with emergency crews being called to 1,600 deliberate vehicle fires.
Arsonists torching vehicles are putting lives at risk and taking up time and resources from already stretched services, according to the Fire Brigades Union and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Since recording began in 1981, England’s fire and rescue services have attended more than a million deliberate vehicle fires, with nearly 8,500 incidents in 2020.
The chair of the NFCC described the thousands of "mindless incidents" as shocking and called on people to report vandals setting cars alight to the police.
Firefighters at the West Midlands Fire Service responded to 78 fewer incidents involving this kind of arson last year compared to 2019.
There were 696 deliberate vehicle fires attended in 2015 and there has been a fall of 25 per cent since 2011 when 861 incidents were recorded.
A spokesperson from West Midlands Fire Service, said: "The consequences of fires started deliberately can’t be under-estimated. They’re a menace on many levels: the huge emotional cost of a life lost; the distress and disruption caused by the destruction of a home, business or vehicle; environmental pollution; financial cost.
“They also put our firefighters in danger. We mitigate the risks through our training, safe systems of work and familiarisation visits to certain premises, but there will always be dangers at any fire scene.
“Our response to such fires requires many resources, aside from the obvious emergency vehicles and crews. A fire control crew will handle the 999 call and manage the required attendance. We might also send a specialist team to investigate the cause of the fire.
“They often cause severe disruption in communities and to businesses.
“While we’re responding to these fires, we’re clearly not able to be out in our communities helping our most vulnerable people to live safely and healthily, or our businesses to be stronger.
“We use sophisticated data and mapping systems that allow us to spot any emerging trends or patterns. This intelligence enables us to work with partners such as West Midlands Police and our local councils to target our joint efforts, complementing the many prevention activities that our staff carry out."
Whereas firefighters at the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to 19 fewer incidents involving this kind of arson last year compared to 2019.
Head of prevent and protect at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Mark Walchester, said: “These deliberate fires put people and property in danger and are devastating to the local community.
“They place additional strain on our operational resources and tie crews up for considerable amounts of time, meaning that they are not available to respond to other incidents should they occur.
There were 131 deliberate vehicle fires attended in 2015 and there has been a fall of 34 per cent since 2011 when 236 incidents were recorded.
Detective Chief Inspector Rob Taylor from Staffordshire Police said: “Arson-related incidents are always concerning due to the potential fatal consequences they can have. This is in addition to the fact that deliberate fires can be carried out as a way to destroy evidence – meaning it’s harder for us to investigate any related crime.
“However, we, alongside our colleagues at the fire service, will continue to do what we can to ensure the minority of people responsible for these crimes are tracked down and handed to the courts. This is far easier for us when we have the support of our local communities, so we ask that members of the public continue to provide us with any information they have on these incidents.”
Data released by the Home Office shows that vehicle fires accounted for a fifth of all deliberate blazes attended by fire crews in the area last year, though figures could be higher as not all fires are reported.
