The Christmas holiday has been a busy time for staff at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Permanently on call at the county’s 23 fire stations, they have dealt with a total of 193 calls since the beginning of December, reported Deputy Chief Fire Officer John Redmond.
Fire crews were involved in a number of severe incidents including:
- The rescue of two people in separate incidents from the River Severn in Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury.
- Worked with police to deal with two arson incidents in Newport homes.
- The tragic death of an individual in a car in Shrewsbury who was initially rescued by Fire Service personnel.
- A severe fire in a pizza takeaway in Telford.
- Several fires in houses including a two storey property in Woore and a fire in Donnington, Telford.
- Three serious road traffic collisions requiring people to be cut from the wreckage of their vehicle by the fire service.
“All of these incidents have caused a significant loss to the occupiers and owners of properties within our local communities and in some cases it has resulted in people needing to be re-housed,” said Mr Redmond.
Businesses had lost income because they were unable to operate due to damage from fire, he said.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service were promoting fire safety messages to try to reduce the numbers of people who suffer because of emergency incidents.
“Fires in homes and businesses are a disaster at any time but they cause particular heartache at this time of the year for anyone unfortunate enough to suffer them.
“This is a busy time of the year for us and we have had a number of significant incidents over the Christmas period.”
He urged everyone to pay particular attention to cooking safely and the safe use of candles which were “an all too common” cause of fires in homes.
Information on all safety topics are on the this website under the 'Promoting safer communities' section.
“On behalf of all at Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe new year,” added Mr Redmond.
