A senior Fire Officer has said Tuesday was "a gamechanger" for the 999 emergency services - as the UK burned during the ongoing heatwave. He said that our emergency services now "face a completely and fundamentally different operating environment" because of climate change.
Dave Walton, a Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) for West Yorkshire Fire Service, said that he has "never known so many major incidents declared". He said this was a "peek into the future... where fires burn with such ferocity, and spread with such speed in suburban areas that you cant stop them".
"We’ve seen the kind of conditions faced by international colleagues just miles from our capital city, and in towns, villages and cities the length and breadth of the country," said DCFO Walton. "Today was about climate change, the hottest UK day on record - EVER!
"If you don’t believe in climate change ask a firefighter who has been on duty in the last two days what they think about it."
It comes as firefighters say they still don't know the full extent of the damage caused by blazes which affected houses, schools and churches across London, with crews describing scenes as “absolute hell”. Residents were being evacuated from their homes and people were taken to hospital amid fires in the capital as temperatures soared to more than 40C on Tuesday afternoon.
Two “large-scale” incidents took place in Upminster and the village of Wennington, east London, where black smoke billowed into the air, while flames destroyed buildings and ravaged nearby fields. And a major incident has been declared in South Yorkshire after firefighters were called to multiple fires, including a number involving blazes spreading to houses. The most serious blaze on Tuesday afternoon was in Barnsley when a row of houses in the Moorland Avenue area was consumed by flames.
In a thread on twitter, DCFO Walton said: "What the hell just happened?’ - My partner (a 999 Fire Control supervisor) and I both used exactly the same phrase as we got home from work today. The true story of today will not become clear until incidents are debriefed, call and incident numbers are reconciled, and tales from incidents are recounted.
"I’ll start by paying tribute to the awe inspiring work of firefighters, fire control staff, officers and support staff over the last few days and today in particular - you are all amazing. But I’d like to share a few, early, thoughts on…
"Be under no illusion the type of incident splashed all over national news from London happened the length and breadth of England today, it just hasn’t got the media coverage yet. Today was a game changer. 999 calls were stacked and bouncing around the various Fire Controls around the country.
"Fire crews were going from one incident to the next, to the next…it has been brutal. I’ve never known so many major incidents declared at a whole FRS level at once. I lost count at one point.
"This is not a post about the effects of austerity on the FRS, or how hot it was in 1976, or the fact that it was just a ‘hot day’ - it’s about a peek into the future. It’s about demand for fire engines and firefighters far, far outstripping the numbers that any reasonable person would expect to be available at any one time.
"It’s about a completely and fundamentally different operating environment where fires burn with such ferocity, and spread with such speed in suburban areas that you can't stop them. We’ve seen the kind of conditions faced by international colleagues just miles from our capital city, and in towns, villages and cities the length and breadth of the country.
"You can’t ask your neighbouring FRS for mutual aid when they’re just a busy as you are, and so are their neighbours, and their neighbours etc..
"Your Fire and Rescue Service staff are heroes - every one of them - but they can’t work miracles. Today was about climate change, the hottest UK day on record - EVER!
"If you don’t believe in climate change ask a firefighter who has been on duty in the last two days what they think about it. Hopefully things calm down now, and we get back to ‘normal’ but there are huge lessons to learn and big decisions to make. Support your local firefighters (especially @WYFRS ones of course) and be alive to what’s happened today. Thanks for reading."
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