Coronavirus could be to blame for an increase in accidental house fires in Rutherglen and Cambuslang last year.
In total, 44 accidental house fires – up 10 per cent – were recorded by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in the area between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Station manager Alistair Stewart this week told South Lanarkshire Council's Rutherglen and Cambuslang area committee that it won't be known if Covid-19 was behind the increase until next year.
He said: "We're not overly concerned with the increase, it's in line with averages.
"We asked ourselves the question, with accidental dwelling fires, is Covid-19 a contributory factor? Maybe.
"We probably won't know that until maybe next year. Then, we will get a clearer idea.
"You've got to imagine that with more people in their homes there are more instances within the home environment so potentially, Covid has had quite an effect."
Last year also saw an increase in deliberate fires in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, with 207 attended by SFRS – up by 30.
Of those, 27 were deliberate primary fires – fires which involve a monetary loss such as a vehicle or a property fire – and 180 were deliberate secondary fires, such as bin and grass fires.
Car fires accounted for 60 per cent of deliberate primary fires while there was a "considerable spike" in deliberate secondary fires in Rutherglen South, up by 48 per cent.
Mr Stewart added: "Primary fires are generally the most serious kind of fires that harm people or cause damage to property.
"We're looking at a minor reduction (three per cent) which is always good.
"The more prominent primary fires were actually vehicle fires. This was quickly identified by the fire service and we were quick to react.
"Historically, deliberate dwelling fires are normally quite low but we noticed a wee spike to five.
"That is something we want to keep an eye on to see if there is any other trend.
"I was a wee bit disappointed with deliberate secondary fires because we had worked so hard over the preceding years.
"We had seen a real drop in activity and we were quite proud of the fact that the partnership approach was actually really working.
"Then [this year] we obviously get the spike.
"There was a considerable spike in the Rutherglen South area. It's the biggest spike we have seen in a while.
"These were always areas, in years gone by, that we really had focused on. We put a lot of time and effort into demand reduction there.
"Refuse is the most common category there."
Across the area, there were nine other accidental building fires and, although 10 people were injured as a result of a fire last year, there were no fatalities associated with any fires.
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