Dene Films

Tyneside Fire Services required a hard-hitting commercial to illustrate the effects and consequences of Anti -social fires.

The campaign is aimed at 12-16 year olds (Kids under peer pressure to start fires) and their parents, with the key message, that starting a fire (no matter how small) has serious consequences.

This campaign has a dual message in the sense that it needs to address the parents/legal guardians of the offender and illustrate that they must also take responsibility for their kid's actions.

An anti-social fire would be someone setting fire to the contents of a wheelie bin, or an abandoned mattress. The offender is of the general thought that the damage is minimal with little or no monetary value or consequence. While in reality these fires can be enormously destructive.

There are 8,000 reported anti-social fires each year with young people deliberately setting light to buildings and cars and putting people's lives at risk.

Although it seems less dangerous, setting fire to rubbish, dumped furniture or recycling bins, can enable the fire to spread quickly to nearby property or fencing. If this happens this ‘little’ fire could be classed as Arson - the crime of setting fire with the intent to cause damage.

Arson is against the law and anyone found guilty of purposely lighting fires could face a possible prison sentence. At it's worst arson can lead to loss of life and significant financial damage. Furthermore each anti-social fire is using the valuable resources of the fire service when they could be dealing with bigger scale emergencies.