Firefighters in Elgin were out on the streets today to raise awareness of bin fires following an increase in fires over the last few months.
Scottish Fire and Rescue teamed up with Elgin Bid to give advice on how businesses can protect properties from fires.
‘Extortionate number of bin fires’
Angela Norrie, manager of Elgin Bid has been left baffled by the recent spike in fires.
She said: “I think there has been an increase in fires due to the timings with holidays.
“There’s talk about the bus travel to young people encouraging more people to come into the area, but I have no idea why it’s continuing or escalating at the moment.”
In August, a 15-year-old boy was charged in connection with a fire at Poundland in Elgin.
Ms Norrie wants businesses to be particularly aware of bin fires as there has been a significant number in recent months.
“There’s been a lot of bin fires, this has continued, we’ve had a lot of incidents,” she said.
“I know the firefighters have dealt with a number of fires in one evening alone which was an extortionate number of bins,” she explained.
‘Look out for each other’
She added that today’s interactions with businesses was about “raising awareness, making sure everyone knows how to deal with certain issues and who to contact.”
Ms Norrie stressed that everybody has a “responsibility to look out for each other, if you see something report it, make sure your neighbour is okay.”
As well as speaking to businesses, fire officers confirmed they’ve been going around schools in Moray to educate children on fire safety ahead of Bonfire Night.
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