FIREFIGHTERS are breaking with tradition by looking for buildings to set ablaze.

Disused, derelict and unwanted premises in Darlington are being sought for training for fire investigators.

The properties can be residential or commercial and of any size or shape.

When the exercises take place next year, police and ambulance crews will be involved to make the experience more genuine.

The exercises are being carried out as part of a degree course at the Darlington campus of Teesside University.

The fire investigation foundation degree is the first of its kind in Western Europe. Ten senior fire staff have enrolled since it began in September last year.

The course is intended to train fire investigators to a higher standard, to allow them to work with confidence on large-scale incidents in which the cause is not obvious.

Lee Aspery, a fire investigation manager with County Durham and Darlington Fire Brigade, said that although facilities to test fires were available in the region, a greater variation of building-type was needed to provide a more realistic experience.

He said: “If you set fire to a shipping container, as we often do for training, you are going to have a container fire, there is no getting away from that. They act in a fairly typical and pre-determined way, so the training you get from them is not what you would see in a domestic or commercial environment. The aim is to find some proper buildings.

“Somewhere there might be a business which needs to clear some space or demolish a building.

“I am sure people think we are going to burn a building to the ground, but it will be a controlled burn. The last thing we want is to push the fire out of control, which would destroy all the forensic evidence.”

Anyone who can help is asked to call Mr Aspery on 0191-332-4386.