SCOTTISH Fire and Rescue's local senior officer has pledged to continue the fight against all deliberate fires.

A report which went before members of the Community Alliance last Wednesday showed a near 30 per cent increase in all deliberate fires in West Dunbartonshire.

The figure is based on year to date figures, taken from April to September last year.

The number is up 293 from the same period in 2015/16 when it stood at 227.

In his report Jim Hymas, local senior officer for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: "Deliberate Fires YTD 2016/17 figure of 293 have seen a 29 % increase on the figure for the same period in 2015/16.

"The figure for 2015/16 was 227 which were unusually compared to the average figure for the previous three years being 326.

"When we compare the 2016/17 figure of 293 with the average for the previous four years of 301, we see that it represents a 3% reduction in this type of incident.

"We typically see a spike in deliberate fires in the first half of the year, this spike being the result of improved weather conditions, lighter nights and an increase in youth related anti-social behaviour.

"Analysis of the data indicates of the 293 deliberate fires that have been recorded, 263 occurred outdoors."

The number of accidental fires within a home are, however, on the decrease, as Mr Hymas' report states: "The number of accidental dwelling fires in 2016/17 of 61 has slightly decreased on the previous year figure of 68.

"However the figure for 2016/17 is 22% higher than the average for the previous four years- which demonstrates why we need to maintain our focus in this area.

"We have carried out 829 HFSVs (home safety fire visits) in 2016/17 which is a15.5% increase on the previous year, resulting in 310 smoke/heat detectors being fitted free of charge.

"This is an increase of 24.19% on the previous year.

"Following detailed analysis of the root causes, there is an emerging theme of very small fires within kitchens which are relatively minor in nature.

"These mainly involve lone persons over the pensionable age who have become distracted or fallen asleep.

"However, with the increase in telecare and general smoke detector ownership these fires are early detected resulting in early alert and quicker notification to SFRS."

One big plus for SFR is the fact that the report also shows a 50 per cent decrease in officers being called out to road traffic accidents in West Dunbartonshire.

The report states: "The figure for 2016/17 has shown a decrease of 50% on the same period for the previous year.

"When we look at the average for the preceding four years (13.25%) we see that the 2016/17 figure is significantly less than the four year average."

Jim Hymas, in his report, stated: "In relation to RTC's we have carried out an extensive programme of engagement with young drivers delivered in conjunction with local

secondary schools, the aim of which has been to reduce the number and severity of this type of incident.

"There are a number of factors that present a challenge when trying to affect the number of RTC's within a local authority area, these include, the fact that drivers involved in collisions may not be resident within that local authority and thus an opportunity to engage with them prior to the event may not be possible.

"Whilst much of this risk is outwith the control of SFRS, responding to Special Services & Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) is a key element of our intervention strategy.

"We are committed to working with partners and other stakeholders to reduce the number of RTC's that occur within West Dunbartonshire."

Mr Hymas also said that it's a team effort when responding to road traffic incidents, saying: "It shows that the partnerships we have are working well, it's not about one single agency that's achieving this, it's a range of partners. It's a good news story."