FIREFIGHTERS handled a staggering 52 bonfire and barbecue fires in a 12-hour period over the weekend.
The callouts for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue services crews on Saturday night and Sunday morning took place while an extreme warning for wildfires remained in place.
Despite repeated warnings, people appear to be ignoring the pleas of the emergency service.
Since 18:00 hrs last night DW FRS have handled
— DWFireControl (@DWFireControl) May 31, 2020
1 Beach Hut Fire
3 Domestic Fires
6 Alarms
1 Electrical Fire
1 Animal Rescue
1 Assist Ambulance
24 Repeat Calls
52 Bonfire and BBQ Fires, of which a further 11 calls were false alarms and not extinguished.
A number of incidents have taken place involving bins at Bournemouth beach, while crews are also seeing repeated issues at Studland.
Our crews have been patrolling the Studland peninsula the past two evenings.
— Swanage Fire Station (@DWFRSSwanageStn) May 31, 2020
Unfortunately our crews have come across lots of people still having BBQ’s on the beach and in the dunes.
The fire risk for the weekend is Extreme.
PLEASE DO NOT HAVE BBQ’s IN ANY PUBLIC PLACES! pic.twitter.com/brUbjmOJve
We are wasting valuable resources & money attending unnecessary calls regarding irresponsible disposal of BBQ's and out of control Bonfires.
— DWFireControl (@DWFireControl) May 30, 2020
And this also puts the lives of our Fire Fighters at risk responding.
Don't know how we can make it clearer. STOP the BBQ's and Bonfires
Due to flare-ups, the fire service sent more crews back to Wareham Forest, where around 200 hectares of heath and woodland has been destroyed due to a blaze which is believed to have been started by disposable barbecues.
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