Warnings as fire crews busiest they have been in years
BLAZES DESTROYING GRASSLAND AND FIELDS
FIRE crews in Leicestershire are facing one of the busiest periods in years amid prolonged dry weather and extreme heat.
The conditions have led to a wave of grassland and field blazes in the past month.
The heatwave forecast for this week follows a bout of extreme weather in July to which a number of serious fires were attributed, culminating in Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service declaring a “major incident”.
Firefighters are still dealing with one of the bigger fires three weeks on. Crews are having to return every 24 hours to the scene of a fire that broke out on July 19 at Bradgate Hill, in Newtown Linford.
The fire was put out, but due to the dry weather, hot spots are still being identified underground, using thermal image technology, meaning a crew has to regularly return to check on the site.
Meanwhile, a number of fires have been reported across the county in recent days, including a grassland fire near Hinckley and a field fire on 25 acres in Rutland.
Matthew Cane, head of operation response for the fire service, said: “It’s one of the busiest periods we’ve had in a significant number of years.
“We have still not seen enough rain to see any change to the ground conditions.
“You could call it a tinderbox. What we’re seeing is things that wouldn’t normally start a fire are starting them.”
Sparks caused by a stone in a combine harvester, or an overheated catalytic converter on a car travelling off-road are two of the examples Mr Cane cited as creating a higher risk than usual.
He added: “What would normally be a small fire, crews are being called out to and finding it’s actually much bigger and more appliances are needed.”
The fire service is running with all resources available but Mr Cane said it is “planning for the fact we’ve got more hot weather coming”.
This includes looking to bring more staff into work during the heatwave.
Firefighters’ wellbeing would continue to be prioritised.
“We have to make sure crews are ready to respond and suitably hydrated, as well as having a suitable rest period between incidents. It means we’re rotating crews more frequently,” Mr Cane said.
“If we become very busy we would need to prioritise incidents.”
Members of the public are also being urged to consider increased fire risk during the hot weather. Mr Cane said it was “concerning” people thought it was okay to have bonfires in the current conditions.
“We’re also asking that people are very considerate as to where they are having a barbecue. Please keep them in your gardens and try to keep them off the ground.”
Those who want to cool off should do so in a swimming pool rather than in open water without lifeguards. “Unfortunately we’ve seen a number of incidents across the country of people losing their lives,” said Mr Cane.
A huge column of smoke from a fire on farmland near Rutland Water over the weekend could be seen from more than 40 miles away.
The cause of the blaze, which torched 25 acres of corn, is thought have been “spontaneous combustion” due to hot and dry conditions.
Firefighters issued a public warning urging walkers to dispose of smoking materials safely and to take their rubbish home with them.
Aerial photographs taken by Mark Rushton, of Welland Gliding Club, on Sunday afternoon show the destruction left by the fire on farmland between the villages of Brooke and Ridlington, above.
Mr Rushton said the smoke could be seen as far away as Towcester, in Northamptonshire.
Crews from Castle Donington and Swadlincote were also called on to deal with a large fire in Measham over the weekend, just to the north of the village, by the A42.
The blaze is believed to have been caused either by smoking materials or glass.