Crews tackle large heath fire in Dorset

A stretch of heathland the size of four football pitches was involved in the blaze

Author: Maria GreenwoodPublished 20th Oct 2022
Last updated 20th Oct 2022

Firefighters from Poole and Swanage have been dealing with a heathland fire the size of four football pitches.

Crews were called to Povington Heath yesterday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said at the time of the blaze:

"Firefighters are using four hose reel jets and a hose reel from the land rover tank. Although they are making good progress fighting the fire, they have requested an additional off-road pump from Swanage and the Unimog appliance from Wareham, to assist with damping down the surrounding area."

Three crews, two from Poole and one from Swanage attended in total, together with a small 4x4 appliance from Swanage and the Unimog from Wareham.

Six hose reel jets were used to put out the fire, with all appliances away from scene by 7pm.

Fire crews will be back at the scene this morning to inspect the area.

It's not yet clear how the fire started.

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