FIREFIGHTERS and police have joined forces to launch the country's first team dedicated to tackling the rising number of deliberate fires.

The Arson Reduction Team comprises Station Officer Rick Percival and Detective Constable Graham Jones, currently based in Accrington, and is the first time police and firefighters in Lancashire have worked together to focus on a particular problem. It will be the team's job to slash the number of deliberate incidents across the county.

With £50,000 funding from the government's Arson Control Forum, the team will be based at the retained fire station in Wesham, near Kirkham.

Fire service spokesman John Taylor said the base was to cover the whole of the county and will initially run for one year.

In a highly visible silver with red stripes Audi A2 car, the crime-busters will blaze a trail to the scene of a fire and begin detective work to find the culprit. The team will also put its energy into educating people to actually prevent arson attacks occurring in the first place.

And with an estimated 50 per cent of the 5,704 property fires in the county last year being arson attacks, the team will have its work cut out.

Heralding the introduction of the team, officially launched next Wednesday, Lancashire chief constable Pauline Clare said: "I am delighted to support this joint initiative to reduce arson crime in Lancashire. Expertise from both services will be used in a strategic way to significantly reduce the high number of arson crimes across Lancashire. The team will use up-to-the-minute data to target their anti-arson work towards the areas where the biggest problem exists." As well as endangering lives, arsons inflict a massive economic and environmental burden on communities. Many businesses attacked by arsonists never recover, jobs lost due to fire are often never recovered and losses can run into millions of pounds.

Arson attacks on schools alone in Lancashire cost the county £4million each year. Earlier this year Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School, near Blackburn, was razed to the ground by arsonists causing more than £2million damage.

And just a couple of weeks ago, three businesses were badly damaged in an alleged arson at Eastgate Business Park, in Accrington. Damage from the fire exceeded £4million.

The crime-busting pair acknowledge that although criminal proceedings against the arsonists will halt their activities as well as deterring others, a range of strategies must be adopted to prevent or reduce arson.

This includes ensuring businesses, schools and other potential targets have an adequate guard against arson attacks. Station officer Percival and DC Jones will also work closely with Crime and Disorder partnership groups to jointly fight the problem.

Lancashire's chief fire officer Peter Holland said: "Arson has been the bane of our work for many years and the team is our first joint attempt to call a halt to the problem.

"We intend to send out a strong message that we mean business. People intending to burn property for gain or just to cause damage should know that we intend to catch them."