Elgin businesses have been warned about a rise of bin fires in the town with 17 recorded since March.
The majority of the incidents over the last seven months remain under police investigation, but in the meantime a multi-agency effort has been issued to tackle the problem.
In June, police investigated a bin fire on Thunderton Place that melted the phone lines of more than 600 town centre businesses and homes.
Chay Ewing, the fire service’s local senior officer for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray said: “Deliberate fire-setting is reckless, selfish, and can have devastating consequences if the fires spread to nearby properties.
“We have issued a letter to businesses in Elgin with fire safety advice and our crews will continue to engage with them to reduce the risk of fire.
“Practical steps they can take include securing bins in a safe place away from buildings and not overfilling them.”
Last week, fire crews visited Elgin businesses to raise awareness of bin fires following an increase in fires over the last few months.
‘Patrol the town centre’
The recent bin fires in Elgin have typically occurred in the early hours of the morning.
Chief Inspector Simon Reid, the police’s area commander for Moray, said: “Our community policing team officers routinely carry out foot and mobile patrols of the town centre area of Elgin and work with partners to address any public concerns and adapt these patrols accordingly.
“In addition, our crime reduction officers carry out visits to businesses throughout north-east divisional area to provide general crime prevention advice.
“We continue to work in partnership with fire service, Elgin Bid and Moray Council to raise awareness and encourage preventative measures together.”
‘Ensure the High Street is a safe place’
Moray Council’s waste service are currently exploring options to alter the date for bin collections, as well as supplying locks for certain types of bins.
The authority’s waste manager, Mike Neary, said: “We will take all the steps we can to support businesses and local emergency services to ensure the High Street is a safe place to live, visit and trade.
“It’s unfortunate that these irresponsible and dangerous actions may cause disruption or changes to collections, not least have much more severe consequences, but we’ll communicate directly with any affected businesses and reassure them we are doing this in the interests of preventing damage to property, and danger to life.”
