Fire chief says bonfires have cost Stockton £10m in the past five years amid rise in nuisance fires
A fire chief has warned bonfires have cost Stockton £10m in the past five years amid a rise in nuisance blazes.
Stockton councillors are taking a closer look at plans to tackle bonfires on public land over fears some are getting out of hand on Hardwick and in parts of the town centre.
Craig Strike, from Cleveland Fire Brigade, told the latest crime and disorder select committee how fires had cost Stockton's economy a staggering £10m in the past five years through costs of clean-ups and the knock-on negative effects they could have.
He said: "Bonfires have cost the economy of Stockton £10m based on data provided by central and local government.
"That's the cost to the area. While a lot of the time they're seen as nuisance fires, behind the scenes, the costs on tourism, repairs and house prices is factored in - and they're quite stark."
Past meetings have heard how fireworks being used as missiles have become an increasing problem to Stockton police teams in recent years.
In an incident in 2020, emergency workers faced attacks from fireworks missiles near High Newham Road on Bonfire Night.
The committee has also raised questions after Stockton Council warned its annual fireworks display in the town centre is in doubt this autumn - with the launch site for pyrotechnics now set for housing.
Figures presented to the panel showed that Stockton "performed quite well" when it came to smaller "secondary fires" - such as burned rubbish or grassland blazes - with 1,721 cases per 100,000 people in the past five years compared to Cleveland's higher average of 3,050 per 100,000.
But the statistics also showed a 63% increase in refuse fires in 2021 compared to 2020 - and 2021 levels were up 33% on pre-Covid fire figures in 2019.
Five wards were noted as hotspots for blazes in 2021-2022. These were Hardwick, the town centre ward, Billingham East, Newtown and Stainsby Hill, Thornaby.
Hotspots for secondary fires between 2017 and 2022 were:
Durham Road, Newtown - 113
Northbourne Road, Newtown - 65
Dundas Street, Newtown - 51
Durham Road, Hardwick - 44
Doncaster Crescent, Newtown - 39
Talbot Street, Stockton town centre - 39
Bishopton Road, Newtown - 34
Melbourne Street, Stockton town centre - 25
Frederick Street, Stockton town centre - 16
High Newham Road, Hardwick - 16
Neasham Avenue, Billingham - 16
Holme House Road, Stockton town centre - 14
Gilside Road, Billingham - 12
Dixon Street, Stockton town centre - 12
Tithe Barn Road, Hardwick - 12
Tedder Avenue, Stainsby Hill, Thornaby - 11
Low Grange Avenue, Billingham - 8
Mr Strike added that diversionary activities had made a "huge difference" to reducing fires, referring to the "Boys in Blue" boxing programme it had funded in Brambles Farm and Thorntree, Middlesbrough.
He said: "It only ran for a month but during that period we saw a 50% reduction in fires in that area."
Mr Strike told the committee how the fire brigade didn't have legal powers to prevent bonfires, adding: "There's nothing we can do if there is an accumulation of rubbish.
"The only thing we can do is promote fire safety and then go and extinguish it, so there is a bit of a gap in there."
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