A firefighter from Stone helped to launch a new video by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service that targets teenage fire-setters and raises awareness of the penalty they face if convicted.
The Teenage Caveman story is an animated film about a group of young people who get bored and think about starting a grass fire. Here it is…
Every year, firefighters are called out to deal with hundreds of grass, tree and rubbish fires that are deliberately started – and evidence shows the number increases during school holidays. During the Easter school holiday alone, the service dealt with 187 small fires across the county.
Stone firefighter Kyle Brookes helped to launch the new campaign by posing with Teenage Caveman cut-outs, which will be at the Staffordshire County Show on May 29 and 30 and visitors will have the chance to design their own caveman character using an interactive board.
Teenage Caveman aims to get across the hard-hitting message that anyone convicted of arson faces a maximum fine of £5,000 or a prison sentence of up to two years. The video, which is part of the service’s Flames Aren’t Games campaign, has been posted on social media channels, plasma screens in fire stations and on the service’s website and will as used in fire prevention work in schools.
Head of Risk Reduction, Glynn Luznyj said: “Starting a grass fire, however small, is a crime and will be treated as such. We work with Staffordshire Police to do everything possible to find and punish those who deliberately waste our time and resources and endanger lives and property by starting fires maliciously. Arsonists face a criminal record and severe penalties, including a prison sentence of up to two years.”
