EASTERN Shore firefighters are becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of deliberately lit fires that have been occurring since January this year.
Since the start of the year Rokeby Fire Station has responded to more than 400 emergency incidents, of which approximately 75 per cent have been deliberately lit fires.
Crews are frequently responding to small fires in Rokeby and Clarendon Vale that have been deliberately lit. The fires range from small grass fires, to plastic barrier mesh, rubbish bins, playground and more recently, vacant houses.
Haydn Williams who is the first office at the Rokeby Volunteer Fire Brigade said that this was a significant impact on the community and the firefighters themselves in attending these incidents.
“The impacts on the community include losing key community facilities such as playground equipment and public seating in parks. If vacant houses are destroyed by fire, it prevents other people, who need housing assistance from moving in and having a home,” Mr Williams said.
“By volunteers having to continuously respond to these fires sometimes up to five times an evening also impacts on their ability to spend quality time with family.
“While the brigade is in attendance at these types of fires it reduces our ability to be able to respond to other incidents such as kitchen fires, chimney fires and motor vehicle accidents, as resources are committed to extinguishing fires that are deliberately lit.
Mr Williams said volunteer firefighters were becoming increasingly frustrated by having to continuously respond to deliberately lit fires, which were 100 per cent preventable.
“If parents have children who are engaging in unsafe firelighting behaviour, either in the home or elsewhere, they can contact the Tasmania Fire Service, which runs a community education program called the juvenile fire lighter intervention program (JFLIP).
JFLIP officers can be contacted through free call 1800 182 341.
Firefighters are encouraging the community to support their efforts by being vigilant and reporting suspicious behaviour involving the lighting of fires to police on 131 444, or to pass any information they may have about people responsible for lighting fires to Crime Stoppers on free call 1800 333 000.
Information can be passed onto Crime Stoppers anonymously.
