Firefighters respond to record number of incidents during August Heatwave

Wow it's been busy!

From Friday until Sunday we attended 80 fires, with the peak on Saturday when we attended 33 fires! Our normal average at this time of year is 9 fires a day.

Over the week, from Monday to Sunday we attended 187 fires, this is the highest weekly total since our current incident recording system was implemented in 2009!

We want to thank our communities for following our fire prevention & drowning prevention advice, as we believe it would have been even more busy if we hadn't been warning of the dangers and how to prevent emergencies. A big thank you to our partners for continued support too.

Our firefighters, officers, 999 emergency control operators and support employees have worked tirelessly to respond to the grass fires, reports of barbeques in the open, garden fires that have got out of control, hay and barn fires, and crop fires in our county, as well as providing over the border support to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue

Of course it's not over for us, while temperatures are dropping the risk of fire remains as everywhere is still tinder dry, so please continue to follow our fire prevention advice.

Fire Prevention:

⚠️No portable BBQs in open areas
⚠️No campfires
⚠️Take all rubbish especially glass bottles home
⚠️Ensure cigarettes are discarded responsibly - Never throw them out the car window!
⚠️Absolutely no garden fires - visit your local authority website for how to dispose of rubbish responsibly
⚠️Having a BBQ at home - keep it away from the house, sheds, fences, garages and overhanging trees and shrubs and ALWAYS keep a bucket of water on standby for emergencies.

Drowing Prevention:

⚠️Keep out of open water - don't be fool to keep cool! River, reservoirs, lakes and quarries remain cold and have many hidden dangers.
⚠️Ensure everyone in your family knows how to #FloatToLive : Resist the urge to panic and thrash about - lay on your back, arms and legs out like a star and float - calm your breathing, and shout for help.