Cambs Fire Warning To Parents

30 July 2010, 06:00

Now that the school holidays have begun, parents in Cambridgeshire are being asked to warn their children about the dangers of deliberately starting fires.

Firefighters in Cambridgeshire are trying to reduce the number of arson attacks during the summer holidays, as they were called out to nearly 270 incidents in July and August last year.

They have set up the Firesetters Intervention Scheme, which aims to educate children with a fascination with fire, about the dangers and consequences of arson. 

Last year the fire service ran the scheme, and, of the 69 children visited, 66 children only needed one session to stop their fire setting behavior.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue are asking parents to sit down with their children to explain to them that deliberately starting fires is not a joke and can have extreme consequences.

Graham Stagg, Chief Fire Officer for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, said: "As a father of two, I am particularly aware of how bored young people can be during the holidays.

Starting a fire deliberately could be seen as a joke or a laugh. It is up to us as parents and guardians to show that this is not the case.

To help with this, the fire service has uploaded two fun and colourful videos onto YouTube on the subjects of arson and hoax calls for people to show their children." [See below]