FIREFIGHTERS have been called out to 45 arson incidents in West Yorkshire prisons since April, councillors have been told.
And there is “no doubt” prison overcrowding is exacerbating the issue, according to a top firefighter.
At a meeting of West Yorkshire Fire Authority on Friday, councillors from across the area that prisoners were setting fires for a number of reasons, ranging from wanting to move cells to “retaliatory attacks” on other prisoners.
The Authority’s Community Safety Committee were being given an update on the number of fire call outs in recent months when they were told about the prison issue.
Since April, firefighters have been called out to 2,422 blazes – 969 fewer than the three-year average for this period.
Area Manager Scott Donegan broke down the different categories of fires for members. He said there had been a decline in outdoor fires, including blazes caused by leftover BBQs or people setting waste or grass on fire. This was thanks to the wet weather the country has experienced in recent months.
When discussing building fires, Mr Donegan said: “We’ve had 100 non-domestic building fires so far (since the start of the municipal year in April).
“The primary reason for this is prisons. There have been 45 fires in prisons in West Yorkshire since April.
“Leeds alone has three prisons, Armley, Wealstun (near Wetherby) and Wetherby (Young Offenders Institution).
“We’re working with the prison service to try and reduce this number.
“The fires are mostly out once we get there, we’re often going there more as a precaution than to fight fires.
“There is a whole host of reasons why people set fires in prisons, from wanting to move cells, or wanting to move prisons to retaliatory attacks for issues like having debts.
“It is not an issue that West Yorkshire is seeing in isolation.”
Chair of the committee Wakefield Councillor Charlie Keith (Lab) asked if the current national problem with overcrowding in prisons was having an impact on the figures.
Mr Donegan said the fact that many prisoners now shared cells due to the current situation likely played a part.
He told members: “People sometimes fall out with fellow prisoners. They hope that setting fire to their cell will make it unliveable and they’ll be put into another wing of the prison.
“There are frictions in prisons and there is no doubt the overcrowding situation does contribute.”
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