Downpatrick tops NI gorse fires epidemic

Downpatrick tops NI gorse fires epidemic

10 May 2017

DOWNPATRICK Fire Station has been the busiest station in Northern Ireland over the past week following a disturbing spate of deliberate gorse fires.

Firefighters have made an urgent appeal for an end to arson in dry gorse land following an astonishing 45 fires attended by the Fire Service’s Downpatrick station alone, 12 in Newcastle and a further nine in the Ballynahinch area.

Several fires were started at an anti-social behaviour hotspot on the Killough Road area of Downpatrick, where fire crews recently also had missiles and eggs thrown at them. Among the locations crews attended in Downpatrick were the Struell Wells Road, Flying Horse Road, Colmcille Road, Fountain Street, Bridge Street and the Strangford Road. A large area of grass was also set on fire near St Mary’s High School on the Ardglass Road.

The local gorse fires are part of a disturbing trend across Northern Ireland during recent warm weather.

Between last Monday and Monday of this week, the Fire Service attended 500 gorse fires, 466 of which were started deliberately.

This compares to just a handful of gorse fires in the same period last year. 

Fire Service Area Commander, Maurice Rafferty, warned lives were being put at risk.

“The current spell of dry, sunny weather has provided a tinderbox landscape with conditions ripe for gorse fires to take hold,” he said. “We have already dealt with the first gorse fires of the year so we are appealing to the public, and young people in particular, to support their fire and rescue service by acting responsibly.

“Tackling gorse and wild land fires is extremely challenging for us. It means deploying firefighters and equipment to remote locations. This can be for prolonged periods of time with our crews working under hazardous and intense heat to bring the fires under control. These fires can easily spread and even a slight change in wind direction can pose a serious risk to life, property and the environment.

“It’s not just the larger fires on hillsides and mountains that impact upon resources, the smaller fires involving grass and bushes also need to be dealt with quickly as they have the potential to spread and develop into bigger fires. Attending such incidents puts additional pressure on our people and our resources.  

“We are appealing to everyone within the local community to be aware of the dangers and consequences of deliberate fire setting.  It ties up our vital resources from other more serious incidents and potentially puts people and property at risk.”

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath urged the local community to provide witness statements to police to help catch those responsible.

“Our local firefighting team is stretched at present,” he said. “They are delivering a service almost akin to that of a full-time station. They are attending some of the most disturbing incidents in our area and providing essential community lifesaving services and yet some still think it acceptable to throw eggs and stones at them and to continue to set malicious fires that divert them from other more essential work.

“It is only a matter of time now before someone is seriously injured or worse — dies as a result of fire fighters being unable to attend an incident because they are caught up in a fire set maliciously.

“We have had too the recent experience of Downpatrick being left under-resourced for a period due to the fire engine being taken out of service due to damage from a stoning incident. This meant we had crucial lifesaving equipment out of our community because of the action of a few thugs.

“We also are stretching our fire fighters to the limit with so many malicious fires being set causing them to be physically drained at times when they need to face emotionally draining incidents such as the deaths of young people on our roads.

“Some in our community need to reflect upon their actions and see them in the wider context. They must stop what they are doing and work with and encourage our local fire fighters — not stone them and cause them harm.

“I wish our local teams well and offer the backing of the community in the hard work they do.”