WHY AIR TANKERS COULDN’T HELP IN BLAZE BATTLE
AIRCRAFT ARE FAMILIAR SIGHT IN USA AND AUSTRALIA, BUT EXPERT REVEALS WHY THEY HAVE NOT BEEN USED IN SADDLEWORTH
THEY’RE a familiar sight when wildfires rage through California and Australia.
So why aren’t firefighters here in Greater Manchester using planes to fight the massive blaze on Saddleworth Moor?
It’s a question many of our readers have been asking and it mainly comes down to two things – cost and effectiveness.
The Saddleworth Moor fire has been described as the largest in Greater Manchester in living memory.
So unlike in the US, Canada, Australia and the Mediterranean, where massive wildfires are a much more common occurrence, there’s not really a need to have a hugely expensive ‘air tanker’ as part of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s fleet.
But also it’s to do with how effective the aircraft would actually be.
In Greater Manchester the really big fires tend to occur on the moors, on hills which are largely made up of peat bogs.
And peat burns underground, meaning dumping thousands of litres of water or retardant from the sky simply doesn’t work.
In fact, in the words of Prof Guillermo Rein, an expert in wild fires at Imperial College London, it’s ‘100 per cent useless.’
Prof Rein, who is also editor-in-chief of the journal Fire Technology, told the M.E.N.: “The main reason planes are not used in the UK is they are very, very expensive to maintain.
“The UK has a wildfire problem, but currently it is not large enough to justify having a fleet of planes.
“But with climate change and the very professional work of the fire service in the UK, at some point that may change.”
Yesterday GMP Saddleworth and Lees said a helicopter had been used to dump water on the ‘leading edge of the fire.’
And while that may help extinguish the surface
flames, it is said to be ineffective against the fires burning underground. Prof Rein added: “Air tankers are 100 per cent useless against peat fires.
“Greater Manchester Fire Service are experts in fighting peat fires.
“They have developed a technique where they insert tubes into the ground and pump massive amounts of water in.
“This is the reason Manchester is the best place in the world for fighting peat fires.”
And Prof Rein also warned that communities in the area could be in for a tough few days yet.
“Right now we are worrying about the flaming phase of this fire,” he said.
“You are seeing communities being evacuated and properties at risk because of the flames.
“But either tomorrow or in a few days when the flames are put out we will enter the smouldering part of the fire.
“This is where the peat continues to smoulder underground.
“A peat fire is the most persistent type of fire on earth and it produces an enormous amount of lowlying smoke that will move into nearby towns and houses. That will be the main risk over the next few days.”