Services may need extra funds for wildfires

FIRE SERVICES may need to apply for emergency Government funding to help cover the cost of a significant rise in the number of wild and grass fires in 2018.

Prolonged spells of “exceptionally dry and hot weather” turned much of the country into a tinderbox between May and July, leading firefighters in some parts of northern England to attend almost 2,000 wildfires in the period, nearly three times more than on any other recent year. Figures from South Yorkshire’s and Lancashire’s fire services are the first clear insight into the scale of the wildfires, in a summer dominated by headlines of fires engulfing rural areas across the country.

The “exceptional” cost of the fires in Lancashire had yet to be assessed, said Mr Taylor, but may involve asking the Government for emergency financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme, which also supported emergency services after the Grenfell Tower fire last year.

Tony Carlin, head of emergency response at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, had previously praised firefighters for working in “hot, difficult conditions” during a “busier than usual period”.

The 1,762 wild and grassland fires in the two regions this summer are significantly more than the 650 recorded over the same period in 2017 and 460 over the three months in 2016. Just 503 similar fires were recorded between May 1 and July 31 in 2015 and 468 over that time in 2014.

More than 70 per cent of fires in South Yorkshire were believed to be started deliberately, although there was no great difference in the proportions from previous years. Almost a third were accidental and the cause for nearly three per cent was unknown.