Grass fires across Merseyside increase by a 600% in 12 months

Fire chiefs say many of the incidents across the region were caused by carelessness, from barbeques to discarded cigarettes.

Transcript

00:00Grass fires across Merseyside have increased by a whopping 600% in a 12-month period.

00:07Last week, firefighters spent more than two hours putting out flames at Rimrose Valley Country Park.

00:12The 3.5km Park and Valley forms a border between Crosby and Litherland,

00:16but has now been left scorched by fire during the dry weather.

00:20Across Sefton alone, recorded incidents of grass fires have increased 11 times over between March last year and now.

00:27The inferno that gripped the popular green spaces prompted Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service to issue a warning

00:33to those considering starting fires during the warm and dry season that it will be treated as arson.

00:39On Wednesday, fire crews arrived to find a large grass fire at Rimrose Valley, measuring approximately 100m2.

00:46Firefighters worked to put out the fire, and once extinguished, the crews remained on scene to dampen down the area.

00:52According to data from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, between March last year and now,

00:5677 recorded grass fires have been dealt with, jumping from six during the same period 12 months earlier.

01:03Overall, fire crews responded to 507 incidents involving grass and rubbish fires,

01:09a 614% increase compared to the same period in 2024, which saw just 71 incidents.

01:17Grassland fires alone have seen an almost 12-fold increase from 24 to 286.

01:24Crews have attended numerous incidents in the past few weeks, many of which are believed to have been caused by careless actions,

01:30including the improper use of barbecues, unattended campfires and discarded cigarettes.

01:35While grass fires may appear small at first, they can spread rapidly,

01:39becoming extremely difficult to control and causing serious damage to the environment.

01:43As far as I heard, I was able to come in to that mission of justicecraft,

01:54make sure to send it north of the field of fire events.

02:00Next slide.

02:06す Much noticeable.