Fire Raising a Serious Crime says Gardiner
Sam Gardiner MLA, Ulster Unionist Assemblyman for Upper Bann, today condemned fire raisers who started a series of gorse fires and stretched the resources and manpower of the Fire Service.
“With over 700 of these gorse fires being raised in the past month alone and with 200 fire fighters occupied in tacking gorse fires last Friday, it is only a matter of time until fire crews are so stretched that someone will die either through a gorse fire spreading or in a house fire emergency which overstretched fire fighters were unable to reach. I just hope that house is not in Lurgan, Portadown or Banbridge.”
“Every gorse fire caused by these wicked hooligans means that a fire fighter might not be available to attend a road accident or a house fire. I wouldn’t like to have that on my conscience and I would appeal to anyone who has indulged in fire raising to think again and realise what their actions could lead to.”
“It is difficult to imagine what is going on in the heads of these fire-raisers and how they could get any satisfaction out of this. Arson is a serious business and deliberate fire raising is a serious crime.”