Fire service sets out plan to deal with future wildfires

Fire engines, all-terrain vehicles and drones would be used to tackle blazes in the event of a wildfire in Gloucestershire.

A drought has been officially declared in the county this week after a prolonged period of dry weather.

And Gloucestershire County Councillors are set to receive a report next week on how prepared the fire and rescue service is to deal with a potential future increase in heat waves and wildfires.

Historically the UK has experienced periodic severe wildfire seasons. And these seasons have tended to coincide with extended periods of warm and dry weather, and have sometimes been accompanied by high winds.

The risk of wildfires is also affected by the size, condition and dryness of the fuel. Increased rainfall before warm, dry periods can cause rapid vegetation growth that can increase the risk of wildfires when the vegetation later dries.

In Gloucestershire, the most significant area of risk of wildfire is the Forest of Dean which has some 42.5 square miles of mixed woodland and is one of the surviving ancient woodlands in England. Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has plans in place to respond to a wildfire in the Forest should one occur.

The service has seven fire engines at its disposal along with three four-by-fours and the Unimog all terrain vehicle in the Forest district.

All firefighters at Lydney, Coleford, Cinderford and Newent community fire stations are familiar with the tactical plan to deal with a wildfire and have local knowledge of the area.

In addition, supporting assets from across the service could be mobilised including the bulk water/foam carrier and high volume pumping.

The fire service has a memorandum of understanding in place with Gloucestershire Constabulary to access their drone (UAV) assets that would provide aerial images to aid situational awareness for responders on the ground.

In November last year, 13 fire officers from Gloucestershire attended a two day wildfire awareness course run by National Resilience/Northumbria Fire and Rescue Service and the intention is to train an extra four officers to become national tactical advisors on wildfires.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service says it has also been proactive in implementing measures to prevent such a fire.

Their community safety team have been getting messaging out around the issue of wildfires across all social media platforms in an effort to promote safety to homeowners and visitors to the Forest of Dean.

And the business fire safety team have been engaging with commercial organisations and industrial companies within the area to promote good fire safety messaging and behaviours in an effort to minimise the risk.

The fire and rescue scrutiny committee will be briefed about the service’s resilience to wildfires in Gloucestershire on September 2.

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk