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CHILDREN SPARK TWO STRAW FIRES
CHILDREN are believed to be responsible for two fires which destroyed tonnes of straw and tied up firefighters for more than 18 hours.
A blaze broke out in a 500 tonne stack of straw bales in Herring Lane, Pinchbeck, on Friday night and raged into Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday firefighters battled a similar blaze in Broadgate, Weston, when seven tonnes of straw were destroyed.
A Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue spokesman sent out a call to youngsters to beware of the consequences of their actions.
Apart from the obvious dangers straw bale fires are time consuming.
They have to be allowed to burn out after breaks have been made with unaffected areas as water tends to run over the top while the fire continues to rage inside.
Sub officer Ken Baker said: "Over the last few weeks we have had a lot of stack fires started by children playing with fire.
"Stacks are a dangerous place to play because they can easily collapse and it is possible to be badly hurt from stacks falling.
"It goes without saying that if you play with matches near them you could easily be injured or even killed.
"Apart from the dangers to themselves they are endangering other people and it also ties fire appliances up for a considerable time.
"We dont tend to put out stack fires but have to keep a crew on standby supervising the fire and allow it to burn out on its own.
It can tie a crew up for 24 to 48 hours when they could be out dealing with more serious calls.
People should remember that this is arson and the maximum penalty for arson is life imprisonment."
The Pinchbeck blaze began at about 9pm and fire crews didnt leave the scene until 1.50pm on Saturday.
Flames engulfed and destroyed 50 tonnes of the straw but the rest was saved.
Firefighters spent more than three hours bringing the Weston fire under control. It broke out at 1.50pm and firefighters left the scene at 5.30pm.
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
