Wildfires putting lives at risk fire service warns

3 hours ago

Patrick O'HaganBBC Berkshire political reporter

Wildfires are more intense and more frequent than usual this summer

ROYAL BERKSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE In the distance you can see small puffs of smoke drifting up from a farmer's field. The fire is all but you can also see a fire engine parked up on the edge of the field which is bone dry aside from the black patches on the ground where the fire has burned. In the foreground you're looking into the wing mirror of a fire service 4x4 vehicle, leaving you looking back at the side of the car itself and at more parched fields with more patches of black dotted around. — Wildfires are more intense and more frequent than usual this summer

This summer has seen record breaking temperatures and one fire service has said an increase in wildfires has left firefighters up against it.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that bone dry ground combined with even the smallest spark can set off a blaze that can be hard to control.

The service believes that a recent major fire in Upper Basildon was accidentally started by a farmer after blades on the farmer's harvester hit a flint, creating a spark, causing a fire which took dozens of firefighters to bring under control.

A team of specialists has now been set up to tackle wildfires before they get too close to people's homes and the service are calling on the public to remain vigilant.

Tom Brandon, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service's Area Manager for Response and Resilience, said: "We're seeing increasing demand, incident numbers are up and the scale is up as well.

"So far we're on course to exceed some of the records that were set in 2022 which was our last really severe wildfire year."

Dealing with fires within Berkshire's own borders is proving challenging but Brandon said they often help neighbouring fire services bring their incidents under control too.

He added: "Recently we had a 15-pump fire in Oxfordshire, a big fire where we sent seven resources over to assist with that. All of this is creating a lot of extreme incidents for us."

The chair of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority Jeff Brooks says it is up to the public to do the right thing

A smiling Jeff Brooks stares straight into the camera. He's wearing a smart blue overcoat over a blue and white striped shirt with a tie in similar colours. Behind him you can just pick out blurred images of closed windows on the upper floors of some of the shops and cafes on Newbury's Market Place. — The chair of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority Jeff Brooks says it is up to the public to do the right thing

What can you do to help?

Berkshire's fire authority, which oversees how the day-to-day service operates said it is vital that people are vigilant when they are out in the countryside.

Its chair Jeff Brooks said: "We're looking for the public to be careful with outside barbecues, with barbecues in fields, those portable ones, with bottles being left around which can reflect light and cause a fire."

Brooks is clear that small acts of carelessness can have far reaching consequences.

"This is dangerous to people's lives. It's dangerous to the community, dangerous to properties that abut the fire area," Brooks said.

The forecast for the next few days is for more dry weather and Berkshire's fire crews will be keeping a close eye, not just on the temperature, but on the wind speed too.

They say that, so far, the winds in July have been relatively modest making it easier to keep wildfires away from where people live and work.

Heat and wind are not the only dangers though. Humans are the biggest threat of all.

Royal Berkshire's Fire and Rescue Service has asked for the public to do their bit to help.

For them that means extinguishing cigarettes properly, avoiding lighting barbecues in public spaces and disposing of glass bottles properly.

Brandon said bringing a wildfire under control takes a particular set of skills which is why they have trained up a team of seven specialists who help firefighters to get ahead of a fire before it can pose a threat to life and property.

The fire service's area manager for response and resilience also says wildfires require different uniforms. The traditional heavyweight uniform is built to withstand the intense heat that building fires create.

The Royal Berkshire service is looking to buy lightweight kits for wildfires as crews need to move swiftly to stay on top of a blaze as the wind shifts, pushing flames with it.