Strike fires 'not investigated'

Army fire crews could be on duty again from Friday

Clues about the cause of fires during the firefighters' strike could have been missed by military crews, it has been claimed.

Leaders of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said on Wednesday that during last week's 48-hour walkout, routine investigations into the cause of fires were not carried out.

The union is concerned arsonists may never be caught.

However, senior fire officers stressed that all major incidents during the dispute, such as the one in Manchester at a fireworks depot, were investigated as normal.

'Specialist duties'

Bob Pounder, of the FBU, said a range of specialised roles, including fire investigation, were not carried out during the dispute.

He told BBC North West Today: "The fact they (firefighters) are on strike means that a lot of the duties that the public are not aware of were not being carried out."

During normal operations, fire officers investigate the cause of every fire.

If they feel the cause is suspicious specialist investigators are called in.

'Community safety'

John Judd, assistant county fire officer for Greater Manchester, admitted such investigations were made "difficult" during the dispute.

He said: "Clearly we had problems getting to all the fires we would have liked to, and gathering all the information that we routinely gather.

"Fire investigations are not carried out just for preventing arson, they are used for intelligence for our community fire safety initiatives."

Police officers who escort Green Goddesses to fires are expected to be watch for anything suspicious.