ARSON is a “significant issue” in Wellington and south Telford, and a council programme against rogue landlords will help target the issue, Shropshire fire chiefs say.

Chief fire officer (CFO) Rod Hammerton and temporary assistant CFO Simon Hardiman say ignited rubbish “appears to be the greatest contributor to the number of deliberate fires in the county”.

Despite this, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has exceed its target to reduce arson. It aimed to have 547 or fewer incidents in the county in 2019-20, and 396 took place.

In a report for the brigade’s governing authority, Officers Hammerton and Hardiman credit this drop to an increase in the number of 'risk visits' paid to vulnerable people, expansion of the anti-arson education programme and the brigade’s partnership with West Mercia Police.

The first annual target, set in 2015, was for fewer than 700 deliberate fires, and this threshold has been lowered each year and achieved every time.

Officers Hammerton and Hardiman wrote: “The ignition of rubbish, possibly through fly-tipping, appears to be the greatest contributor to the number of deliberate fires in the county.

“This predominantly occurs in both Shrewsbury and Telford, but there appears to be a significant issue with it in the Wellington and south Telford areas.”

They add that Telford and Wrekin Council’s Rogue Landlord Taskforce “is looking at this type of issue as part of their work, although this is in its infancy.”

The officers’ report says: “The professional trust fostered between the Fire Crimes Office, West Mercia Police and other partners has been key to the consistent success in arson reduction.”

The education programme has been expanded to cover looked-after children, and officers have carried out greater numbers of “risk visits” to help protect vulnerable people from attacks, they say.

The arson reduction target was one of seven Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service set for itself. It exceeded the target in three other areas, relating to the number of accidental fires, fire-related deaths and injuries suffered by staff while firefighting.

Three targets were missed. Eighty-nine per cent of fires were confined to the room they started in, missing the target by just 0.5 per cent, while there were 195 accidental fires in homes, compared to a target of 186.

Under their response target, the brigade aimed to arrive at the scene of a call-outs within 15 minutes on 89 per cent of occasions. They missed this target by 4.9 per cent. Officers Hammerton and Hardiman say this statistic may actually be “a perverse consequence” of fire prevention work.

“This work has predominantly focussed in our whole time areas, where the higher number of fires occur,” they write.

“The reduction in the numbers we have seen in these areas has resulted in the location of the ‘average’ incident being further away from our stations, therefore increasing the travel time.”

Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority’s Standards, Audit and Performance Committee will discuss the report and proposed 2020-21 targets on Thursday, April 30.