Crews across South Yorkshire attended six separate incidents of arson overnight, where vehicles had been set alight causing great danger.
At 8:21pm, Central red watch attended an incident on Saxonlea Court, Sheffield. On arrival, they found a BMW well alight. Using a hose reel they were able to tackle the blaze, which they believe had been set deliberately.
At 8:50pm, Adwick red watch attended an incident on Almholme Lane, Almholme in Doncaster. On arrival they found the vehicle was well alight, they quickly acted to bring the blaze under control. It had been so badly burnt that the make and model was unclear, but it is thought that the fire was started deliberately.
At 9:50pm, Aston red watch attended an incident on Houghton Road, North Anston in Rotherham. On arrival they found a Ford Transit van has been set alight. Working together, they were able to bring the fire under control, which is thought to have been set deliberately.
At 10:11pm Birley red watch attended an incident on Woodthorpe Road, Sheffield. On arrival they found a Toyota Yaris well alight, firefighters were able to put the fire out before it caused any further damage. Again, this is thought to have been started deliberately.
At 11:37pm, Rotherham red watch were called to an incident on Davis Street, Clifton in Rotherham. On arrival they found a Renault Megane had been set on fire – the firefighters worked well together to bring it under control. It is thought this blaze was started deliberately.
At 1:01am, Aston red watch were called to Worksop Road, Aston in Rotherham. On arrival they found the vehicle was well alight and they worked quickly to stop further spread of the fire. The vehicle was so badly burnt it was impossible to tell the make and model, though it is thought to have been started deliberately.
We treat all acts of arson extremely seriously and are working closely with South Yorkshire Police to identify those responsible and to prevent further instances occurring. Incidents such as these take up a large amount of our resources when they could be needed at genuine life-threatening emergencies.
Small fires have the potential to spread to properties and could put lives at risk.
If residents have any information about people starting fires in their area, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111.