Fire and Police team up to tackle arsonists in County Durham

Fire and police have teamed up to tackle arson on the east coast.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) and Durham Constabulary, have launched a joint publicity campaign aimed at educating young people about the dangers of deliberately starting a fire.

It’s after we can reveal more than 600 arson incidents were dealt with in the past year alone.

The campaign, which involves an image of a badly burned teenage boy aims to encourage people to stop and think about the life changing damage that can be caused by getting involved in this kind of criminality.

Chris Williams, Assistant District Manager for Easington, said:

“It could stretch anywhere from a bit of rubbish that we need to put out with water, to someone getting a nasty minor burn to having some life changing injuries or possibly death.

“Young people think it’s fun or at the time they can think it makes them look good. They don’t think about the long term implications, potentially what could happen because it is so unpredictable. The more people we get to think about it the better.

“These incidents are time consuming, costly and they’re damaging to the local community. They can also have a significant impact to those starting the fire, having lifelong consequences.”

Posters, with the graphic image of the boy, will be featured on bus stands in the Horden, Shotton Colliery and Easington area as well as on the rear of five fire appliances in the Peterlee area over the coming weeks.