BEHIND THE HEADLINES: Grass fires in Gwent

Indeed, in the past three weeks, up until April 22, the fire services have dealt with 332 grass fires in Gwent.

Of these fires, 303 were deliberate: 127 were in Caerphilly, 88 in Blaenau Gwent, 53 in Newport, 31 in Torfaen, and four in Monmouthshire.

That total has already eclipsed the total, 296, across the whole of South Wales from the same period last year.

Across the South Wales region, up until April 22, the fire services dealt with 776 deliberate grass fires in 2015, which was an 162 per cent increase on the period of January – April 2014.

In Gwent, the only like-for-like day, compared to last year, in the number of grass fires, was April 2 this year where there were none.

In contrast, on April 21, there were 59 deliberate grass fires in South Wales compared to just six on the same day in 2014.

The figures were revealed as the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) added that each blaze typically costs around £2,000 to put out and a total of £1.2million has been spent on tackling grass fires in April alone.

The damage has been astronomical and one only has to look at last Wednesday’s incident at Wattsville, which was the biggest fire in Gwent so far this year.

A total of 741 acres were set alight and around two kilometres of grass along the embankment near the railway line was destroyed.

Such was the devastation, a helicopter pouring water over the mountain remained flying until mid-morning on Thursday.

Callum Richards, a resident at Beechwood Avenue, said of the Wattsville fire: “I saw all the fire engines coming up the bypass, and I thought: what the hell is that?

“It came right up to the houses.

“[Fire fighters] said they might need to evacuate but they didn’t in the end.

“They were right up this road and they started to call the fire brigade in their cars.”

The consequences of these fires lives long after the initial clean-up and, in a crucial breeding season, wildlife are also deeply affected.

The fires pose a significant immediate danger to wildlife that relies heavily on areas and habitats which, to the human eye, could be perceived as barren but in fact are home to a wide variety of breeding mammals, birds and reptiles, such as shrews, foxes and grass snakes.

Veronika Brannovic, from Gwent Wildlife Trust, said: “There is a perception locally that these hillsides are barren.

“In fact, they are home to a huge variety of wildlife and any fire started can have long-term consequences for many species that are already under pressure.

“We are heartened by the community coming together to try to tackle this problem and very grateful to the work of volunteer spotters to help spot fires and limiting the damage.”

Communities have been rocked and whether it’s Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport or Torfaen, it’s been a familiar story across Gwent this month.

Dean Loader has been the station manager at Malpas fire station for two-and-a-half years and has served in the fire service for more than 20 years.

He oversees a combined crew of 40 firefighters, who have been dragged across Gwent and South Wales in recent months to deal with deliberate grass fires.

Having personally overseen his crews dealing with a huge grass fire in Rhonda Cynon Taff earlier this month, Mr Loader said: “Traditionally there is an increase during the Easter holidays in the number of deliberate grass and mountain fires in South Wales.

“But, the number of calls we’ve had since April 1 is unprecedented. It’s had a massive impact on the fire service and all the communities, and has been a real shock.

“Working in those conditions is difficult in inaccessible terrain and the crews have been stretched across South Wales.

“It’s impacting on our ability to respond to more serious fires and these fires are avoidable.

“Has it affected morale? I wouldn’t say so but we can’t be at two places at once and it’s been really frustrating for the crews, as they are protracted incidents that could last several hours or even several days.”

As well as being expensive, tackling these fires requires an array of specialist tools, including beaters and Argo Cats off road vehicles.

There are three of these vehicles strategically placed across South Wales and they each carry a fire suppression system, which delivers high pressured water.

Officer Loader added: “There are no foot paths or tracks so crews have to be more careful than usual

“It’s arduous work, with long hours, and it’s a harsh environment with steep inclines and warm sunny weather

“We have to manage the welfare of our crews by rotation, ensuring hydration and food breaks.

“As we do this, it’s devastating to see the marks on the countryside and these will remain for some time.

“All we can do is appeal to people to report the incidents.”

Central to the fire service’s long-term goal of cutting the amount of deliberate grass fires in Gwent is Project Bernie, which uses a combination of social marketing techniques in education and enforcement to address the issue.

It focuses on three main areas: diversionary activities for young people, including being a fire-fighter for the day; high visibility patrols to act as a deterrent; and raising awareness through the local community.

Following the recent Easter holidays, much of the Project Bernie’s attention has focused on schoolchildren and John Kendall, head teacher at Risca Comprehensive School, said the school have made the pupils aware of the dangers of deliberate grass fires.

He said: “We’ve raised awareness of the consequences of such action in school and the fire brigade are due to visit us later this year.

“I’ve just been shocked by the extent of the fires and the whole of society has a part to play.

“We don’t know who these people are and we have to be careful in laying the blame on an individual group. It could be grown men or women.

“If anyone was so foolish, it would be difficult for them to keep it quiet so we have urged anyone to pass on any information.”

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police added: “Officers will be taking every opportunity to talk to school groups, through the school liaison programme as well as youth groups about the consequences of setting grass fires.

“Whoever is responsible not only has to live with the consequences of the damage caused but the real possibility of causing injury or worse to members of the public.

“They will also face prosecution which could result in a custodial sentence.”

Arson is an offence that can be tried in magistrates court or crown court and there are different maximum sentences for each.

At magistrates, the maximum sentence is a fine and/or six months custody. At crown court, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

A spokesman for the CPS said that there are not specific guidelines on arson for the crown court, as there are not guidelines for all offences yet, so judges refer to case law.

A spokesman for Gwent Police added that, like with all offences, the likelihood of a prosecution depends on each individual case. The police collate the evidence and then present it to the CPS, who decide on the charges.

Gwent Police chief inspector Nick McLain warned that anyone caught and prosecuted risks a two-year prison sentence and a £5,000 fine.

Such is the state of affairs, the Welsh Government is to hold a special summit this week with emergency services to work out a plan to deal with the situation.

The minister for public services, Leighton Andrews, said there was certainly scope to look at the sentencing guidelines for offenders.

Nick Ramsay, AM for Monmouth, said: “It’s an unprecedented situation.

“Going forward, it’s not just enough to talk about it.

“We need action, too, as this is affecting visitors and wildlife.

“I drove past Caerphilly earlier this week and looking at the mountains there was like a scene from Armageddon.

“Although Monmouthshire has been the least affected, there is nothing to suggest that this might not change.”

Alun Davies, AM for Blaenau Gwent, added: “It’s been heartbreaking and I share the same horror and despair that the whole of the Valleys are feeling.

“We can’t have our landscape disfigured in this way.

“Bringing together the police, fire services and the local authorities together at this meeting can only help so that we put in place measures that will never see this happening again.”

l If you have any information about someone who may have deliberately set a fire or see suspicious activity, then please report it to 101, the Fire Crime Unit on 0800 731 7287 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.