Take care if you are lighting a bonfire, says fire chief
POOR preparation from people lighting bonfires caused a busy time for the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service, as firefighters were called to multiple incidents.
Three shouts on Monday evening into the early hours of yesterday led the service to remind islanders to think carefully before lighting bonfires in the hot and dry weather.
‘It’s more about the effects of the heat rather than the heat itself, as fires don’t generally start just because it’s hot,’ said chief fire officer Jon Le Page.
‘Everything dries out and the fuel is more readily available so fires can get out of control a lot quicker.’
The first of the three call-outs came from several reports of large amounts of smoke near Hauteville at 9.50pm.
The owner of the property was having a bonfire and in this instance, the fire was not spreading and the owner was looking after it.
Just after midnight, the service headed to Le Gouffre after receiving a number of calls to a fire that was reported to be significant and heading towards the cliffs.
Firefighters located the site in a rapid response vehicle.
The crew found the remains of a bonfire in the corner of a field, which had not been extinguished properly.
It is thought that the wind fanned some embers, causing the fire to flare up on a hedgerow and spread to an area two metres by 25 metres.
A third extensive fire was reported at 2.22am directly behind a greenhouse at Blancs Bois Vinery.
Trees and undergrowth were alight and once the fire was put out, firefighters spent an additional 20 minutes dampening down the area.
An area of 20sq. m was engulfed by the fire.
Mr Le Page said that during the hot weather, people who light bonfires needed to take extra care and preparation before lighting.
He added that despite having some rain yesterday, a cautious approach still applies.
