Welsh prisoners using vapes to start fires in jail

Dale Spridgeon – Local democracy reporter

Inmates at a Welsh prison are using vapes to start fires at the jail, according to a report.

HMP Berwyn in Wrexham has seen a 74.1% increase in deliberate fires at the Category C men’s prison in the 2024/25 financial year compared with the previous year.

A report presented to the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority during a meeting on Monday, July 21 said a total of 63 “primary” fires were started deliberately, and of those, 47 had been attended by the fire service.

It said the incidents were “predominately vape based” and said incidents at HMP Berwyn “continue to rise”.

Incidents

The report said the service had “engaged” with the Crown Inspector for HM Prisons on a regular basis and assisted in an inspection programme, in May 2025.

The document said: “HMP Berwyn continues to rise in the number of incidents we have there.

“The incidents are predominately vape based, with the dismantling of those devices and utilising the battery as an ignition source.

“During meetings, we are trying to address this situation and ignition source by looking at alternatives with the Crown Inspector and assisting him in his research into this problem.

“Incidents are unlikely to reduce in the short term.” The issue was raised as part of a report looking at the “rising and falling” trends and “new demands” on the service.

It noted that across north Wales the service had also seen a “significant” rise in the number of all incidents it had attended.

Report

Over the last financial year, there had been 6,485 incidents, up 9% from 5,948, and “significantly above” the three year average of 5,737, the report said.

“Provisional figures indicated that North Wales Fire and Rescue Service was the only service in Wales to see a rise in attended incidents during the financial year,” it noted.

Among fires across the region, there had been 1,801 attended, an increase of 8.5%, compared to the same period last year, when it was 1,601.

The cost of living crisis and the associated costs of heating homes had seen some impact on “accidental fires in dwellings”.

There had been a rise, in this financial quarter, the report said, with 338 attended,  although the total number was”the same” as last year, and figures overall were below the three-year average, of 361.

Among the “numerous” main causes of accidental dwelling fires (ADFS) it stated: “Those which have shown a rise this quarter could be associated with the cost of living crisis, and the costs now involved with heating homes.

“The most common was combustible articles too close to a heat source (or fire)”, but overall this had still shown a 9.2% decrease, from 76 to 69, the report said.

Other ‘main causes’ which had risen, included faulty fuel supply (electricity) which increased by 34.5% from 29 to 39 and the ‘negligent use of equipment or appliance’ (heat source) increased by 86.7% from 15 to 28.

There had also been a reduction in ‘equipment faults’ or ‘appliances’ down by 24.4% from 41 to 31.

Injuries

Some 68 people had sustained injuries in 53 accidental dwelling fires, and there had been two fatalities in the period.

Of casualties, 52 (76.5%) were ‘overcome by gas, smoke or toxic fumes; asphyxiation’, five sustained slight burn injuries, three sustained severe burn injuries, two had ‘breathing difficulties (other than ‘overcome by gas, smoke or toxic fumes; asphyxiation)’, two had a ‘combination of burns and overcome by gas/smoke’, and another suffered from ‘shock/anaphylactic shock’ and other casualty’s injury type was recorded as ‘Other’.

The number of people injured (including fatalities) as a consequence of an ADF decreased by 2.9%. and where an injury was recorded, it had dropped by 5.4%.

Chimney fires were up from 87 (4.6%) to  91, (5.1% ) whilst the number of ‘false alarms’ continued to rise with 3,263 incidents attended, up  by 12.4%, and now at their “highest levels for five years”.  Malicious calls  had risen to 60%.

The service  attended a total of 1,421 special service calls, including Road Traffic Collisions, an increase of 2.7%. The number of RTCs  was the same as last year, with 255 attended.