Firefighters left to tackle wildfire blaze without proper PPE
Last week, as temperatures soared, wildfires broke out across the UK, including in Edinburgh, North Yorkshire and at Holt Heath in Dorset.
17 fire and rescue services were drafted in to deal with the Holt Heath fire. Today, the Fire Brigades Union has revealed that a large number of the firefighters who attended that incident were not provided with specialist wildfire personal protective equipment (PPE).
Fire services responding to the incident without specialist wildfire PPE included Avon, Dorset and Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire, and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Many services were also inadequately trained, having received either online-only wildfire training or none at all.
The union warned that the situation put firefighters at increased risk of heat stroke, exhaustion and burns. Fighting wildfires involves being in the sun for many hours, and without proper lightweight PPE, many either suffer from heat or take off their heavier PPE entirely, exposing their skin.
The FBU pointed to the need for national standards on equipment and training, which currently do not exist, and for increased investment in the fire and rescue service following 15 years of deep austerity.
Adam Taylor, Fire Brigades Union national officer, said:
“Wildfires are increasingly a fact of life in many areas now that our climate is rapidly heating, but too often firefighters are not being provided with the basic equipment and training they need to keep themselves and the public safe. Without proper PPE, firefighters face an impossible choice between heat stroke and exposing themselves to burns, either from flames or the sun.
“We urgently need investment to sort out this problem. We also need national standards on equipment and training, as well as response times and crewing levels. Labour promised to safeguard workers’ rights and to rebuild fire service standards – it’s time for this government to deliver.”
Harry Brant, FBU Leicestershire brigade secretary, said:
“We are proud of the six firefighters who were deployed from Leicestershire to help tackle the wildfire at Holt Heath. But it is not ideal that they were sent without access to proper wildfire PPE to aid them in the arduous conditions they faced.
“Without lightweight wildfire PPE, firefighters face an increased risk of heatstroke, burns and exhaustion. Our members travelled more than a hundred miles – the least they deserve is the tools they need to keep themselves and the public safe.
“We need national standards, so that all firefighters can go to work knowing they will have the right equipment, wherever they are working.”
