A COUNCILLOR has stressed the importance of fire safety messages after it emerged two of the biggest fires in West Yorkshire in the past year were caused by people playing with fire.

West Yorkshire Fire Authority saw a report into the biggest blaze's in the region since April 2020 at a meeting yesterday.

Two of the biggest fire responses were to incidents in April 2020.

On April 6 a fire on moorland at Chain Road in Slaithwaite led to 10 engined and 66 fire fighters from across the region being dispatched to the area.

The cause is thought to be "an unknown person playing with fire or heat source."

And on April 21 a similar response, 10 engines and 66 firefighters, were sent to deal with a barn fire at Heights Lane, Silsden.

That incident was thought to have been caused by a child playing with fire.

Huge emergency response as barn fire breaks out in Silsden

The only incidents that saw bigger responses from the Fire Service in the past 12 months were an industrial blaze at Norquest Industrial Park in Birstall in September and the huge tyre yard blaze in Bradford in November.

At yesterday's Fire Authority meeting Councillor Angela Tait (Lab, Royds) said: "It is remarkable that two out of 12 of the biggest fires in the past year was caused by someone playing with fire.

"It reinforces the importance of education and raising awareness around the issue of fire safety, particularly as we start to see warmer weather."