Appeal after several deliberate fires in South Woodham Ferrers
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were tied up with the fires for almost 24 hours
Last updated 20th Sep 2023
An appeal for information has been launched by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service after three fires were started deliberately in South Woodham Ferrers on Monday night (September 18).
The fires happened between 7:59pm and 9:17pm, and led to resources for ECFRS being tied up for almost 24 hours.
The timeline of the fires
19:59 – firefighters were called to Crows Lane, South Woodham Ferrers to 500 tonnes of hay bales which they believe had been deliberately set on alight
20:29 – firefighters were called to a second fire in Creephedge Lane, South Woodham Ferrers to a haystack fire
21:17 – firefighters were called to a third fire in Edwins Hall Road, South Woodham Ferrers to eight hay bales which crews believe to have been set alight deliberately
Could have been prevented
Group Manager Craig McLellan said: “These deliberate fires have caused damage, disruption and distress to the community.
“Firefighters were tied up dealing with these fires for almost 24 hours, and during that time were not available to respond if they were needed for life-threatening emergencies like house fires and road traffic collisions.
“All three of these incidents were entirely preventable.
“We need your help to find out who started these fires. Using FireStoppers - an anonymous reporting service to report anything you know about deliberate fire setting - you can help to reduce dangerous and entirely preventable fires.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact ECFRS using FireStoppers - an anonymous reporting service, on 0800 169 5558.