A report on the incidents tackled by firefighters in East Lothian over the last six months has revealed that more than 200 of the service’s 278 callouts were in outside spaces.
Woodlands, grass areas and crops were top of the list of places crews were sent to to tackle deliberate fires, with the number of incidents increasing by 41 per cent compared to a year earlier.
Musselburgh accounted for twice as many deliberate incidents than any other town; the report, which will be presented to East Lothian Council’s police and fire board later this month, said that of the 152 deliberate fires recorded across East Lothian over the six-month period, 45 were in the town.
It said: “The figure of 152 is a 13 per cent increase from the same reporting period in 2024/25.
“The incidents involving grassland, woodland and crops saw a 41 per cent increase from the previous year.
“We continue to see these incidents mostly occurring between 4pm and 9pm.”
Musselburgh saw a number of incidents last year, including a car being set alight on Bonfire Night and a field going up in flames on the edge of town.
The crop fire in August sparked concern after a second blaze in Tranent was started on the same night, when hay bales were deliberately set alight.
Overall, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said that it attended 717 incidents over the first two quarters of 2025/26, the vast majority of them not fire-related.
It said that the top callout was to outside fires, which accounted for 204, followed by 121 false alarms caused by appliances, 94 false alarms with good intent and 81 unwanted fire alarm signals.