Firefighters lack cash for wildfires

Cost of fighting wildfires

EMERGENCIES: Under-funded and short-staffed fire services say they are ill-equipped to deal with rapidly increasing wildfire outbreaks at the end of a scorching summer in which they tackled a huge spike of blazes on open ground.

UNDER-FUNDED AND shortstaffed fire services say they are ill-equipped to deal with rapidly increasing wildfire outbreaks at the end of a scorching summer in which they tackled a huge spike of blazes on open ground.

At least 25,000 grass and wildfires were fought by firefighters nationwide between May and July, more than double the average number of such fires in previous years, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show.

Of those blazes, more than two-thirds were acts of arson.

In Yorkshire this summer, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, dealt with 1,227 wildfires, far more than the 363 such fires it recorded on average during the same months over the previous four years.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service tackled 243 wildfires, compared to an average of 77 over the summers of 2014 to 2017.

Similarly, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service battled 345 wildfires this summer, compared to a previous four-year average of 148. Of the 1,815 grass and wildfires the three fire services attended, some 1,237 were believed to have been started deliberately.

The true number of wildfires across Yorkshire this summer are far higher but West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service did not provide its full figures.

Nationally, a third of the 40 fire services that shared their data witnessed the number of wildfires triple compared to previous averages.

A spokesman for the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said: “The growing risk of grass fires represents another strain on the dwindling resources of fire and rescue services currently experiencing severe budget cuts across the country. Fire services do not receive enough funding to respond to an increase on this scale.”

Soaring temperatures, combined with weeks without rainfall, turned vast areas of the country into a tinderbox this summer, stretching fire service resources.

Among the worst fires was one at Winter Hill in Lancashire, which spanned seven square miles, and at Saddleworth Moor, where firefighters appealed for donations of sun cream, bug spray, hats and socks due to budget shortfalls. They even asked the public to lend their vehicles so that supplies could be delivered to fire crews on the front line.

The 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.”

While the summer’s weather was “exceptional”, Chris Lowther, operations lead at the National Fire Chiefs Council, said that the longer-term impact of climate change on fire services cannot be ignored. “We have seen an increase in the number of fires in recent years alongside a 21 per cent reduction in the number of wholetime firefighters since 2011,” Mr Lowther said.

Karen Lee MP, Shadow Fire and Emergencies Minister, agreed that fire services were ill-equipped to tackle a growing threat.

She said: “Climate change is a very real and visible threat to our communities and landscapes. The threats are changing while the fire service’s ability to respond is being degraded.”

A Home Office spokesman said it supports fire services “by providing specialist capabilities for the largest emergencies”, including high volume pumps and a specialist National Resilience team, while soldiers were deployed at Winter Hill and Saddleworth this summer.

A growing risk of grass fires is another strain on dwindling resources.

A spokesman for the Fire Brigade Union.

WILDFIRES THAT raged across swathes of the Britain’s countryside during the summer were the least welcome aspect of the scorching weather in which the country basked.

Firefighters who tackled the blazes, including those close to Yorkshire on Saddleworth Moor, were little short of heroic in their tireless efforts to save the landscape, as well as protect properties.

So the firefighters’ warnings that the service faces a shortages of funds and equipment need to be heeded.

It is a measure of how tight fire service budgets are that in the midst of tackling the blazes, it was appealing to the public for donations of sun cream, insect repellent and even socks because they could not be afforded.

This is unacceptable. We expect much from the fire service, which responds expertly and fearlessly in the face of danger.

That courage and commitment must be recognised in the form of a level of Government funding that enables firefighters to do their job efficiently and safely.

Climate change makes it likely that summers will grow hotter, which means a greater incidence of wildfires. This is a long-term trend, and the fire service needs to be equipped accordingly if the countryside is not to be blighted and lives potentially be put in danger, including those of the firefighters themselves.

Hand-in-hand with this should go a drive to educate the public not to increase the risk of wildfires by risky behaviour such as lighting barbecues on tinder-dry moors.

But first and foremost, firefighters must have the resources they need.