Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Mark Hardingham, said:
“We are appalled at the horrific scenes of violence that we have witnessed over the past few days. We have significant concerns about the escalation in arson which presents a considerable risk to the lives of those inside the buildings targeted, the responding firefighters and other emergency services workers.
“There is absolutely no just cause for this violence and fire and rescue services serving the cities and towns affected stand with the other emergency services who have been attacked as they work to keep communities safe.
“Fire and rescue services will continue to work with our emergency service partners to protect local communities and we call for an immediate end to this violence which has no place in our society.”