Guernsey Press

Fire officer: be alert to dangers of dry weather

DRY weather and its consequences should be at the forefront of people’s minds this summer, the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service’s chief fire officer has warned.

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A fire at Bon Port last summer. (Picture supplied by the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service)

With more than two weeks without any rain and summer just beginning, Jon Le Page is reminding islanders of the consequences that could arise when bonfires, barbecues and cigarettes are involved.

‘Very often, the activity going on in the field, such as lighting a bonfire, has been going on for years, but only now that everything is drying out more is it becoming a problem,’ he said.

‘The fields and the hedges, particularly on the south coast, dry out very quickly. What looks lovely and green and lush on top can have a lot of dry material underneath.’

He added that because with fields and hedges connected, if a fire were to occur it could spread very quickly, moving up and down the cliff face.

Last year, there was a rise in the number of wildfires and burns, which grew out of control as a result of the hot and dry weather.

This resulted in Fire & Rescue implementing a voluntary fire ban, which saw the number of incidents slow towards the end of summer.

So far this season, firefighters have attended four fires in the open.

Two resulted from bonfires getting out of control, one resulted from carelessly-discarded cigarettes, and the last resulted from a perished gas supply hose on a gas-fuelled barbecue.

There are no specific areas of concern at the moment, but the south coast could be a problem as the weather becomes warmer.

‘The combination of strong winds and sun is ideal for drying out vegetation and by the time we get into summer, we will be in a similar situation to last summer,’ said Mr Le Page.

‘The key message from me is to think about what you are doing this summer and the consequences it could have.’

Fire & Rescue has an ongoing Be Fire Smart campaign in collaboration with Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services.

It encourages people to be fire- conscious ahead of the summer to protect themselves and the island’s countryside.