Fire Commander’s plea to parents

Deliberate fires are putting lives at risk according to Rochdale Fire and Rescue Service Borough Commander, Martyn Ward.

Firefighers from across Rochdale are urging all parents, grandparents and carers with a responsibility for children to give them a stark warning about the dangers of experimenting with fire.

Martyn Ward said: "During the summer holidays, firefighters find themselves being called out to deal with a greater number of deliberate fires caused by young people as part of their antisocial behaviour activity. This is an unnecessary waste of firefighters time and a drain on resources.

"Whilst fire crews are tied up dealing with unnecessary nuisance fires, they are not available to attend life saving emergencies.

“We would ask that if you are responsible for children please make sure that they are aware of the dangers of experimenting with fires and point out to them that arson is a serious criminal offence.

“Our new campaign, safe4summer in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, Greater Manchester Police and GMPTE, aims to keep young people safe and out of trouble this summer, so if you are struggling keeping your youngsters entertained logon onto safe4summer.com and find out what’s happening across the borough. Whether they like dancing, sport, art or drama there is something for everyone, so get online. “

Leading up to the summer holidays, Rochdale’s Community Fire Safety Team delivered tough fire lectures in schools across the borough, in which 1700 students learnt about the dangers of playing with fire and were warned about the seriousness of being caught committing arson offences.

On Saturday (15 August) firefighters will be re-enacting water rescues at Hollingworth Lake as well as giving visitors insights into the hazards of swimming in open water, and how to prevent accidents from happening.

The aim of the event is to prevent any further tragedies like the death of a 13 year old boy who drowned in Watergrove Reservoir in Rochdale last year. 

They are hoping to see as many young people, and parents from Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale bringing their children up to the lake this weekend.