THERE has been a “significant” drop in arson incidents in Bradford in the past year, according to West Yorkshire Fire Service.

A new report into work carried out by the service in the Bradford District shows that building arsons fell by over 16 per cent compared to the three year average in the 2020/21 municipal year.

The report, to be discussed by West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Community Safety Committee on Friday, shows there was a drop in the number of almost every category of call out, except the number of call outs to false alarms.

Compared to the same date from 2019, the number of arson related house fires in Bradford fell from 78 to 56. And the number of call outs to fires in non-domestic buildings, such as businesses and empty buildings, have reduced from 65 to 36.

The report says: “We feel strong partnership work has contributed significantly to this reduction.”

Although the number of secondary arsons, which involve vegetation or waste being set alight, was down compared to the district’s three year average (8.6 per cent), the numbers were up slightly compared to the previous year.

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The report claims this is down to a mix of lockdown, with schools and youth centres closed, “unusually warm weather” in Spring 2020 and tips being closed, which led to more waste being dumped in public areas. Around two thirds of these fires involved fly tipped waste being set alight.

It says a number of secondary arson incidents were linked with the Arum Street area of Canterbury. Fly tipped waste on an area of land was regularly being set alight by youths. The service has worked with police to try and tackle the issue, and the report says the situation has been “escalated within Bradford Council.”

The report also praises staff for how they have coped with one of the hardest years on record. As well as work being totally changed by the Pandemic, Bradford firefighters had to deal with a number of huge blazes in the District, including a tyre fire in Bradford city centre that burned for days.

“Bradford has experienced several ‘large scale’ incidents over the last twelve months which have really tested the response, both in Bradford and across the whole service. The firefighters have worked extremely hard and done an amazing job dealing with these fires, demonstrating their professionalism and resolve throughout.

“The waste tyre fire on Spring Mill Street was one of the largest fires in the city’s history. The incident demonstrated partnership working at its best in order to deal with the incident as safely and effectively as possible.”