TWELVE hectares of grassland was damaged by last night’s fire in Caerphilly.

The fire in Abertridwr began around 7.25pm on Monday, March 21. Crews from Caerphilly, Whitchurch and Tonypandy were joined at the scene by specialist wildfire officers to tackle the ‘well-developed’ blaze.

They put the fire out around 10.45pm using hose reel jets and fire beaters after urging residents nearby to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service group manager, John Treherne, said: “The fire was in close proximity to residential properties and without the swift actions and intervention of our crews, the outcome could have been very different.”

He also urged that any form of deliberate fire is a crime. Mr Treherne said: “Deliberately starting a fire is a crime and puts the lives at risk. Wildfires impact our communities across Wales and draw fundamental and valuable resources away from our communities, placing unnecessary risk on lives.”

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Anyone who has any information on suspected deliberate fires or sees anything suspicious should contact 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Anyone who sees a grass fire or anyone starting a grass fire should contact 999 immediately.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service is part of Operation Dawns Glaw, a multi-agency taskforce of specialist from key agencies across Wales to reduce, and where possible eliminate the impact of grass fires across Wales.

Every year, fire is responsible for the destruction of thousands of hectares of countryside, open space and wildlife habitats. We will continue to work with our communities and partner agencies to reduce the risk and impact of grass fires.