South Yorkshire Police launched an arson investigation after Sheffield weather turned dangerous on Harthill Road in Woodthorpe on Wednesday, when a patch of grass was set on fire at about 13:50 BST and the blaze spread to two houses. One of the homes was severely damaged, and police said officers attended to support evacuations nearby.
Harthill Road in Woodthorpe
The fire service said the blaze spread up the house and caused damage to the roof, with tiles falling off. For residents of the two damaged homes, the immediate effect was not just fire damage but the disruption of leaving nearby properties while crews dealt with the spread.
South Yorkshire Police said officers supported the fire service with evacuating nearby properties. The investigation now sits with police, after the incident moved from a patch of grass to structural damage in a matter of minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
Musgrave Road and Sheffield Ski Village
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service placed the Harthill Road blaze in an exceptionally busy period that also included several other recent suspected arsons. Crews were called to a second deliberate fire on Musgrave Road close to the former Sheffield Ski Village at about 18:15 on Wednesday.
That same pattern continued beyond Wednesday. Crews worked overnight last week to tackle a large fire at a house on Musgrave Road, and on Sunday they spent several hours dealing with a large fire in a cornfield in Nether Haugh, Rotherham. There have also been a number of call-outs to Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust sites over suspected deliberate fires.
Who started the fire on Harthill Road and whether any arrests have been made is not stated. For now, the question for residents is whether Wednesday’s fire was an isolated act or part of the wider series South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service described.
