Disused building on fire in Fenton Lane, Sherburn in Elmet

Firefighters were called to the scene in Fenton Lane, Sherburn in Elmet, near Selby, shortly after 6.30pm on Saturday (April 11).

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said its crews extinguished the fire using breathing apparatus and hose reels.

“The cause of the fire is suspected to be deliberate,” a service spokesperson.

Later on Saturday, firefighters were called to a fire in the open near a residential area of Sherburn in Elmet.

They used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire in Eversley Garth Crescent.

The callouts come after North Yorkshire Police said it was working with the fire service following a spate of arsons around Sherburn in Elmet.

A force spokesperson said it followed officers responding to several reports of small fires being set around the town on Friday evening.

They said on Saturday that North Yorkshire Police had worked with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to “locate and extinguish the fires quickly, while also making efforts to identify the individuals responsible”.

The police spokesperson urged parents and carers to “please speak with their children about the dangers and consequences of this behaviour”.

“Setting fires, even small ones, poses significant risk to people, property, and the wider community,” they said. “It also diverts emergency services away from other priority incidents, where someone may urgently need our help.”

The spokesperson said North Yorkshire Police would be increasing patrols in the “affected areas over the coming days to provide reassurance and to deter any further incidents”.

They asked anyone with information about the fires to report it to police on 101.