Warnings for people in Oxfordshire to be careful around wildfire risk
The Fire Brigade Union is encouraging people in Oxfordshire not to do anything which could risk setting off wildfires
The Fire Brigades Union is warning people in Oxfordshire about the risk of wildfires spreading and are encouraging people to be careful around barbecues.
It follows last month being the driest March in over 60 years, since 1961, as well as temperatures reaching around twenty degrees Celsius at the weekend.
"It isn't just a risk that is faced in rural areas"
Mark Wright is from Didcot and spent 24 years in the fire service, he is now General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
He said: “The land is the dry, clearly there is a risk that fires will spread quickly, rapidly and put lives at risk potentially.
“The busiest day since the blitz was in 2022 where we saw wildfires spread into urban areas, destroying whole streets of houses. So, it isn't just a risk that is faced in rural areas, this is a risk that is also faced in urban areas with houses and properties that could be put at risk.”
He added: “It's important that people's barbecues are in good working order. This may be the first time that they've used them this year, so making sure that when they dispose of hot ashes, they make sure they've cooled down.
“They could have a bucket of sand, a bucket of water, or a garden hose pipe on standby if I was to spread.”
Mr Wright is calling on the Government to invest more into the fire service to allow them to cope and respond to incidents like wildfires.
He says, “the fire service has been cut to the bone over the past 15 years and ultimately, we need to make sure that we are well invested, so that the frontline resources can respond to any type of incident because we know how quickly these will spread.
“The risk of wildfires is increasing and that puts a big stress and strain on Fire and Rescue service resources. As a frontline firefighter I’ve seen our resources being pushed to breaking point when we've been responding to these incidents in recent years.”
We have contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government for a comment.