FIRE services are being stretched to the limit as arson attacks reach crisis level in Crewe.
Angry fire chiefs say it is only a matter of time before someone dies in a deliberate blaze, after reporting a 60% increase in incidents.
The latest attack saw flames ravage a family home in West Street.
Firefighters fought through heat and choking black smoke to search the building after wrongly being told a mother and her son were asleep upstairs.
They found the property empty but were unable to stop the blaze gutting the building.
Crewe community safety officer Mick