Revealed: 7000 arson attacks in two years

Fire fighters are forced to deal with an average of nine arson attacks every day

Arsonists have attacked the borough of Rochdale almost 7000 times in two years, Rochdale Online News can reveal.

Cars, houses, dumped rubbish, and business premises are being targeted on an average of nine times a day, costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds, and putting a huge strain on the fire and police services.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show 3293 deliberate fires in the past year (the financial year of 2008/9), which is roughly 63 arson attacks every week.

A few of the recent arson attacks are:

• Crystal Clear carwash, Castleton (24 February)
• Seven-car fire on Norman Road (24 March)
• Derelict building, the former Langley School (13 March) 

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has clubbed together with Greater Manchester Police to tackle the problem, and together they have seen the figures drop steadily since 2006.

In 2007/8, the borough of Rochdale suffered 3429 attacks (Rochdale 2380, Heywood 358 and Middleton 691).

Community Fire Safety Officer Phil Greenwood: “Arsonists are taking up our resources, our time and public money.

“We only have two fire engines at Rochdale fire station, and they are often busy dealing with deliberate fires."

"Our aim is to make Rochdale a better, safer place. Together we are able to do it."

Borough Commander Martyn Ward said: “We are aware of the problem and we work extremely hard to keep these figures down, which is why they are dropping every year.” 

Taking action

Local PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) have been trained to ‘hazard spot’, and report anything that could result in an arson attack, such as dumped waste or an abandoned vehicle.

The Fast Track Vehicle Removal Scheme, has been set up between GMP and the fire service to ensure any dumped vehicles are removed as quickly as possible, to lessen the chance or a deliberate fire.

Fire officers also make visits to children and youths who are deemed at risk of committing arson, (Fire Awareness Child Education), and will visit their homes in the presence of their parents.

Rochdale Borough Council has introduced new, lockable wheelie bins on Furness Road, to stop them being a target for fire starters.

Councillor Peter Clegg, also a representative for Greater Manchester Fire Authority for Rochdale said the figures are “deeply worrying.”

He added: "I know that the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, alongside the Police, do a great job in our Borough and I am glad to see that the number of deliberate fires has decreased since 2006.

“However, we need to look at what else we can be doing to reduce the number of incidents, which is why I will be raising these figures at our next authority meeting."

Heywood and Middleton MP, Jim Dobbin, was unavailable for comment when Rochdale Online published this article.