30th September 2015
SIX moorland gamekeepers joined around 50 firefighters and 20 national park rangers for a major moorland firefighting exercise near Glossop. Moorland Association member, United Utilities, helped organise and hosted the event.
Fire and rescue crews from Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, and South and West Yorkshire joined forces to test specialist moorland firefighting equipment and techniques.
The keepers – part of the Derwent and Snake Valley Rural Fire Team – provided invaluable local knowledge and skills in an operation to test high volume water pumps and special vehicles.
Water from Arnfield and Valehouse reservoirs was pumped 300m to moorland plateau at Robinson’s Moss and 4WD Unimog appliances assessed. Also under investigation were radio replaying and aerial drone reconnaissance technology.
Moorland Association director, Amanda Anderson, explained the environmental consequences of wild and accidental fires can be catastrophic, destroying habitats and eroding the landscape.
She said this type of exercise was critically important, bringing together experts and the latest skills and equipment.
Over 400 fires have been recorded by Peak District National Park rangers over the last 33 years. The moorlands are extremely accessible and receive very high annual numbers of visitors. The peat soil and vegetation mean that in prolonged dry periods the moors can be susceptible to ignition.
Moorland fires pose significant threats to people, habits, wildlife, sheep and cattle. The most common causes are arson, discarded cigarettes, barbeques and campfires.
Simon Booth, manager of Blue Watch at Glossop fire station, said: “Time is of the essence when you are fighting fire and having a team of people trained in using the specialist equipment puts us in a better position when we’re tackling moorland and grassland fires.”
The Fire Operations Group was formed in 1996 after a serious moorland blaze. It brings together a partnership of six fire services, gamekeepers, Peak District National Park rangers, National Trust wardens, water companies and major landowners.
The Peak District Fire Operations Group draws-up fire plans, oversees specialist firefighting equipment, raises awareness of moorland fires and the consequences, and carries out regular training exercises.
Robinson’s Moss training event included academics from the University of Manchester who have a long history of collaborative research supporting the groups with wildfire knowledge and wildfire risk mapping.
Simon Thorp, director of the Heather Trust, and vice-chairman of the England & Wales Wildfire Forum, said that there was scope to increase the use of management techniques for wildfire mitigation, particularly in the light of climate change forecasts, which were likely to lead to an increase in the number and size of wildfire incidents.
He added: “This makes the risk of extensive damage very much greater and provides an added reason to carry out management in upland and moorland areas and maintain the associated skills and equipment. Management should be seen as an essential maintenance tool for our uplands and moorlands, not as a threat.”
A wildfire conference is taking place in Cambuslang, near Glasgow, between November 10 and 11. Titled Prevention Better than Cure, Moorland Association director, Amanda Anderson, is leading a conference session.
Landowners and managers are part of the target audience. Find out more on:
http://heathertrust.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/wildfire-conference-10-11-november.html
