Prevention: Proactive awareness raising campaigns take place when risks increase due to hot and dry weather conditions. GFRS is a rural county with large areas of forestry and farmland. Effective collaboration with multiple agencies (including the Forestry England, police, LRF and landowners) to provide targeted preventative advice, share historic incident information, formulate emergency plans, and deliver effective response to incidents. Dedicated awareness raising campaigns support aims to reduce the risk of fires by advising people to avoid using BBQs, lighting fires, or using stoves in the woodlands, and to ensure cigarettes are safely extinguished and disposed of responsibly.
Response: The Service is equipped with standard firefighting equipment which enables fighting fires of various sizes in the 'open', including grass land, commons, fields and forests. There are varying sizes of hose which allow for supplying enough water to deal with an incident. The Service has bespoke wildfire equipment, including grass beaters and water knapsacks, which are recognised as effective firefighting options.
All staff have received training on hazards and risks associated with wildfires, and fire officers have received advanced training to support command and control at these incidents. A water carrier vehicle is available to supply addition fire-fighting water to wildfire incidents. GFRS has a National Wildfire Tactical Advisor to help co-ordinate national responses that occur within Gloucestershire, or in other parts of the country. Regarding specific forestry risks – key fire stations have specific hose to help deal with these types of incidents and a fogging unit is strategically located. GFRS also has an off-road vehicle along with several 4x4s which can be used to transport firefighting equipment to hard-to-reach locations.
Dedicated awareness raising campaigns support aims to reduce the risk of fires by advising people to avoid using BBQs, lighting fires, or using stoves in the woodlands, and to ensure cigarettes are safely extinguished and disposed of responsibly.
The consequences of climate change are now broadly recognised as a reality, and this is likely to increase the frequency and severity of wildfires. Although Gloucestershire does not have significant moorland and heathland it is a predominantly rural county, and the greatest risk currently is to farmland and agriculture.
The Forest of Dean covers an area more than 110km2 and is made up of mixed woodland, it is known for its rich history, wildlife, folklore, and offers various outdoor activities, it is a popular tourist destination. Studies have shown there is an increased risk, due to warmer winters, leading to greater vegetation growth (providing fuel), which then dries out during warmer summers. With such risks increasing through the effects of climate change, wildfires will become an ever-present threat to the communities of Gloucestershire in the years ahead.
It also demonstrates the difficulty faced by responding fire and rescue services, in terms of remote locations, restrictions in access, lack of adequate water sources and the resources required to bring a major fire involving vegetation and scrub under control. The developing risk associated with wildfires will require GFRS to evolve to match the risks, this may require changes to prevention work, training technics, equipment and vehicles to meet the future challenge with greater efficiency.