'˜Mindless' fire causes chaos

The actions of vandals who started a deliberate fire at a Blackpool park have been branded '˜mindless' and '˜deplorable'.
The Rock Gardens in BisphamThe Rock Gardens in Bispham
The Rock Gardens in Bispham

Crews from Blackpool were called to the Rock Gardens in Devonshire Road, Bispham on Tuesday evening.

At the same time a blaze broke out in the kitchen of a Blackpool home, leaving the Fylde coast’s firefighting resources stretched.

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On arrival at the site close to the junction with Warbreck Hill Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, crews found 50 square metres of scrubland on fire.

Firefighters used brushes and an aqua pack to extinguish the fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately. At around the same time Lancashire Fire and Rescue service received a separate call to an address in Digham Avenue, Bispham.

With three Blackpool crews already occupied at the Devonshire Road incident and Bispham’s team involved in the ongoing emergency operation at a burning plastics warehouse in Jameson Road in Fleetwood, firefighters from South Shore and Fleetwood were tasked to attend.

When they arrived at the scene they found a fire in the kitchen of the property.

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Crews used breathing apparatus, a hose reel and ventilation unit to extinguish the fire. There was severe fire damage to the boiler and severe heat damage to the cooker. There was also smoke damage to the kitchen and hallway.

Fire service chiefs made clear the implications could have been far more serious.

A spokesman said: “Starting a deliberate fire no matter how small can put many lives at risk. Not only does it put yourself and people in the immediate vicinity at risk but the fire engines that respond to these incident are then unavailable to attend potentially more serious incidents like the incident in Digham Avenue.

“It is deplorable that a few mindless individuals think that it is funny and entertaining to start these types of fires and if anyone knows who is responsible for these fires, they can report it to Crimestoppers.”

Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

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