Deliberate bin fires cost Almeria City €90,000

DURING 2014 firefighters extinguished fires in more than 100 containers and 30 bins in Almeria City at a cost of more than €90,000, according to figures released by the council.

The city council indicated that nine out of 10 of these fires were acts of vandalism, an activity that seems to be on the increase.

The latest container fire was in the Havana district of Retamar, although initial evidence points to it being accidental. Firefighters in the region’s capital attend receptacle fires at least twice per week, mainly at weekends or in the early hours of the morning.

Cars are not safe from the fire-starting vandals either. In just one night in Havana during December 2014, three vehicles were set alight at the top of Paseo del Toyo.

Carlos Sanchez, councillor for Health and Consumers in the city, asked residents to be more vigilant when disposing of hot ashes and other materials that radiate heat.

Sanchez warned that these could start fires not only in containers, but also in waste collection lorries. This has a knock-on effect to expenditure with the replacement of containers, trucks and street furniture.