Fire brigades hit by budget cuts and rising wildfire arson

FIREFIGHTERS have said they have not got the resources to cope with a huge rise in the number of wildfires started by arsonists.

At least 25,000 grass and wildfires were tackled by fire services between May and July this year, of which more than two thirds were started deliberately, new figures reveal.

Smoking materials such as lighters and cigarettes, along with naked flames on candles and matches, were the most common source of the arsonists’ flames.

The figures, obtained from 40 of the 50 fire services that received Freedom of Information requests from the Press Association, reveal that one third of the services that shared their data attended three times as many grass and wildfires than the average of previous years.

This summer a huge blaze ripped through Winter Hill in Lancashire, burning for 41 days and spreading across seven square miles. Firefighters tacking a blaze on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester were forced to appeal to the public for sunscreen, bug spray and sock donations.

Rescue teams also relied on members of the public to lend them their vehicles so that supplies could be delivered to fire crews battling the blaze.

The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said this was an example of “dwindling resources” across the country due to several years of severe budget cuts.

An FBU spokesman said: “Does that sound like a properly-resourced fire service? We also had reports of firefighters working for 17 hours straight to get the wildfires under control. “That is simply not good enough.” A Home Office spokesman said: “The tireless efforts of firefighters to contain wildfires this summer have been astounding.”