‘Strike Out’ Campaign Launched!
Warwickshire County Council’s Fire & Rescue Service in partnership with Warwickshire Trading Standards and Warwickshire Police are this week asking local shops and businesses to join their ‘Strike Out’ campaign.
The campaign, which was officially launched on the 19 October 2009, aims to target those premises who sell matches and lighters to young people under the age of 18 years in Warwickshire.
Arson Reduction Manager, Roly Bayley said: “Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service attends around 1,500 deliberate small fires a year, a great number of which are in Nuneaton and Bedworth / north Warwickshire area.
"Evidence shows that the vast majority of these fires are started by children and young people between 10 and 18years of age, with all of those fires having been started with matches or lighters.
“The aim of the campaign is to reduce the access these young people have to buying, matches and lighters, which in turn, we hope will reduce the number of deliberate fires we have to attend.”
Firefighters and members of the Safer Neighbourhood Team will be visiting shops over the next few weeks to talk to the owners about the campaign, highlighting the dangers and consequences of selling matches and lighters to young people under 18.
Roly continues: “Even though there is no legal minimum age for purchasing matches or lighters, we will be stressing the fact that since 1st October 2007, it has been illegal to sell cigarettes or tobacco to those under the age of 18, therefore, children under this age should have no reason to purchase matches or lighters.
"This will be a voluntary scheme that is not legally enforceable and we won’t be pressurising individuals to join, but we will be emphasising the benefits to the community. “
These fires, in addition to disrupting a much needed emergency response to larger, more serious incidents also cause massive inconvenience to the community as a whole.
The consequences of this behaviour are the personal and serious financial cost, damage to property and the deliberate destruction of public facilities such as park furniture, bins and shrubbery. These actions can also put individuals and firefighters at risk of injury or even death!