Firefighters were attacked by people throwing golf balls while trying to control a blaze during the record-breaking heatwave. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has also told how it believes some fires were started deliberately during the high temperatures on Monday and Tuesday.
The service faced an ‘unprecedented’ level of incidents earlier this week amid a 300 per cent increase in callouts compared to the same time period last summer. On July 19, temperatures hit record highs of 40C for the first time in some parts of the UK, including Nottinghamshire, as the country faced its first-ever red weather warning for heat.
The fire service has launched an appeal for information after a fire on July 15 at Oak Tree Nature Reserve, near Mansfield, just before 7pm. Crews were attacked by people throwing golf balls while trying to bring the blaze under control.
A total of 15 fire engines also faced a large wildfire affecting woodland in Haywood Oaks Farm, Blidworth, which was declared a major incident. The fire service said that from July 18 to July 21, fire crews attended a total of 243 incidents, which is 152 more compared to the same period in 2021.
At a Nottinghamshire Fire Authority meeting on July 22, Councillor Michael Payne (Lab) said: the heatwave had “once again highlighted the demands on the service”. He added: “Sadly, some of the incidents are suspected to be deliberate.
“We have had situations where firefighters have been attacked which in my view is absolutely outrageous. Our colleagues do absolutely sterling work it was nothing short of heroic work that was going on.
“The incidents were sky high compared to where we would normally be, whether they were malicious or genuine incidents. It’s really shameful that we’ve still got people in national office who are still denying issues around climate change. This was not a normal summer, this was not ordinary weather.”
Area Manager Andy Macey of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Deliberate fires put lives at risk and take our fire engines away from dealing with other life-threatening incidents. With the extreme weather we are already dealing with more incidents than normal, and deliberate fire starting needlessly ties up our resources.
“Attacks on our crews as they go about their job are completely unacceptable and we will be working with our police colleagues to identify those responsible. I ask anyone with information to come forward to the police.”
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