Posted: Tuesday 24 July 2018, 09:17
A wildfire on Arnfield Moor which first started four weeks ago (25 June), is now out and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service (DFRS) has withdrawn all crews from the scene.
Firefighters had been monitoring all areas of the moorland around Arnfield to ensure the fire was fully extinguished before a stop message was issued on Friday 20 July at around 2:00pm signalling the end of the incident.
This brings to a close one of the longest running incidents in terms of operational deployment DFRS has ever attended. Around 200 fire engines and over 1,000 Firefighters from Derbyshire were deployed/redeployed over the course of the four weeks, working in very hot, dry conditions.
Equipment, including 3km worth of hose, which has been used to tackle the blaze has now been removed from the moorland and recovery work with partners has begun.
DFRS would like to thank all of our partner agencies including, Peak Park Rangers, United Utilities (who provided 2 helicopters), the RSPB and local gamekeepers for helping to bring the incident to the quickest and safest conclusion possible.
As well as this, control room operators were taking an increased number of calls on a daily basis and members of support staff from departments including Data Management, Corporate Communications and Prevention & Inclusion saw their day to day operations change dramatically due to the scale and longevity of the incident.
DFRS would like to thank members of the public for their support and donations to crews whilst working in what were extremely challenging conditions.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service Area Manager, Bob Curry said, “On behalf of everyone at Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service I would like to thank our partners, neighbouring fire & rescue services and local communities for their dedication and vital support they have provided whilst we dealt with what was a very difficult incident. Rising temperatures presented challenging conditions for everyone involved, however generous donations of refreshments from our communities provided welcome relief from the heat.”
"According to the forecast, the hot weather is here to stay for the foreseeable future, which means we are still at risk of more wildfires over the summer holidays. Please take extra care and be careful with discarded cigarettes and glass bottles. Please also ensure barbecues are used safely and do not use disposable barbecues in areas of open grassland. As a result of the hot weather, the ground is still very dry which causes fire to spread quickly.”
