'Heroic' firefighters hailed as police in Mansfield highlight arson problem

Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service believes a number of fires were started deliberately during the recent high temperatures gripping the county.

In Mansfield, police and firefighters have teamed up to highlight the problem, particularly after firefighters were pelted with golf balls while tackling a large blaze at Oak Tree Heath, next to Oak Tree Leisure Centre.

A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police’s Mansfield team said: “We are aware of a number of arson incidents in the area during the recent hot weather and are working with our Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service colleagues to raise awareness around the issue.

“Fires deliberately lit in grassland areas can easily spread in the extremely hot and dry conditions we have recently been experiencing.

“This can potentially put lives and properties at risk and waste the time and resources of police officers and firefighters.

“Nottinghamshire Police and its partners take arson attacks extremely seriously and would urge anyone with any information about recent incidents to please contact us on 101 or, in an emergency, 999.”

The service then faced an ‘unprecedented’ level of incidents over the latest heatwave.

On July 19, temperatures hit record highs of 40C for the first time in Nottinghamshire, as the country faced its first-ever red weather warning for heat and a large fire broke out at Blidworth.

At its height, a total of 15 fire engines were tackling the large wildfire affecting woodland around Haywood Oaks Farm, which was declared a major incident.

The fire service said that from July 18-21, fire crews attended a total of 243 incidents, which is 152 more compared with the same period in 2021.

At the latest meeting of the Nottinghamshire Fire Authority, Coun Michael Payne said the heatwave had ‘once again highlighted the demands on the service’.

He said: “Sadly, some of the incidents are suspected to be deliberate.

“We have had situations where firefighters have been attacked which in my view is absolutely outrageous.

“Our colleagues do absolutely sterling work it was nothing short of heroic work that was going on.

“The incidents were sky high compared to where we would normally be, whether they were malicious or genuine incidents.

“It’s really shameful that we have still got people in national office who are still denying issues around climate change.

“This was not a normal summer, this was not ordinary weather.”

Area Manager Andy Macey, of Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: “Deliberate fires put lives at risk and take our fire engines away from dealing with other life-threatening incidents.

“With the extreme weather we are already dealing with more incidents than normal, and deliberate fire starting needlessly ties up our resources.

“Attacks on our crews as they go about their job are completely unacceptable and we will be working with our police colleagues to identify those responsible. I ask anyone with information to come forward to the police.”