On 28 June 2023, Scotland had the UK’s largest-ever wildfire covering 30 square miles of highland scrub and woodland just south of Inverness. On an international scale, meanwhile, wildfires seem to occupy the news daily as global temperatures continue to rise.
Large wildfires in the UK are increasing in number. The European Fire Information System recorded less than 100 wildfires between 2011 to 2017.1 But in 2019 alone there were 137, often man-made, across the UK, from Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester to Ashdown Forest in Sussex.2
With global temperatures predicted to reach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the risk of wildfires in towns, cities and rural areas continues to increase, and local fire and rescue services need new equipment and unique approaches to deal with these interrelated issues, to protect themselves, local communities and ultimately, our planet.
Protecting crew against natural disasters
Dräger’s application of the latest technology to their wildfire helmet ensures built-in ventilation to help reduce the build-up of heat around the firefighter’s head, a system which can be closed to prevent water, flying brands and chips of debris from infiltrating the headgear. But not only must a helmet be ventilated, it must also be extremely lightweight and robust.
Where wildfire rescue and response differ most is through the provision of safe, breathable air in a different format to existing SCBA. In the outdoor environments where wildfires take place, the level of oxygen generally stays at a level that does not require supplementary oxygen. Still, the smoke from forest fires can present both life and health risks for those who work within it, and this necessitates appropriate breathing protection which is light and comfortable to wear.
Such breathing protection needs to have additional filters with low breathing resistance so it can be worn comfortably over a long period of time. Pleated filters with a large air cavity, like Dräger’s X-plore bayonet combination filters, work to ease this airflow. When paired with Dräger’s X-plore 5500 mask, the user benefits from a clear fog-free line of vision in the same instance.
Even in vehicle cabs, additional oxygen or breathable air may be needed. Modern cabin breathing systems, such as Dräger’s CBS 1000, are compact and give breathing protection for a short duration, independent of the environmental atmosphere.
Managing resources and containing the spread
Managing firefighters in the hazardous and unpredictable events of wildfire is crucial for effective fire suppression and maintaining safe energy levels. But keeping firefighters hydrated and rotating their deployment, particularly over the long course of its burn can be extremely labour and resource intensive.
Whilst largely expected in an external environment, the spread of wildfire often involves a large and rapidly increasing surface area. For reference, over 550 acres of Wareham Forest was destroyed within a two-week period back in 2020. To extinguish the flames, all 50 Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) stations attended along with additional crews from Devon and Somerset FRS, Hampshire FRS and Berkshire FRS, plus a tactical burn team from South Wales FRS.3
In addition, no fewer than 300 firefighters were committed to face an urban wildfire across a 740-acre fire in Berkshire a year prior. More recently, a team of 225 firefighters and 40 fire appliances attended London’s largest grass fire at Wanstead Flats in July 2022. Protecting firefighters in such conditions is a real challenge.
Contemporary issues
Urban wildfires have the added danger of gases released as the fire spreads to buildings, roads and other hazards. Also, the terrain often becomes more complex. In these hybrid environments, modern thermal imaging cameras such as the FireVista, and UCF FireCore help fire crews move safely through confined areas and smoky buildings, with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) helping to protect crews from exposure to dangerous gases that are increasingly likely to arise in these hybrid environments, with a greater prominence of man-made materials being at play.
Technology has changed dramatically from the first instances of wildfire rescue and response but so has the subsequent training around it. The first specialist wildfire teams in the UK, such as the Northumberland Fire Group, were trained by experts from overseas. They were taught to face the dangers of extreme fire behaviours, learning how to prevent and tactically manage wildfires more effectively by introducing fuel breaks, for instance, to control the blaze.
Specialist training and equipment is critical to tackling the unique dangers caused by wildfire. Dräger’s Wildland-Fire Sandbox WFS 1000 helps bridge the gap and acts as a training tool for the theoretical and tactical training of fire brigades. Developed together with experts, it offers a variety of scenarios for different training levels of fighting forest and vegetation fires thanks to its software-based display.
Overall, though, the facts remain simple. In the present day, the Fire Service is insufficiently equipped to combat the dangers of fires induced by climate change. This is partly because many urban brigades have not made wildfire response a primary consideration in their risk-management plans. However, with high-population and high-value urban areas including may historic and irreplaceable parks and parkland, this leaves the health and safety of firefighters and communities in a difficult, and potentially dangerous, situation.
With fewer personnel against a backdrop of reduced public funding, attendance or response times can be slowed, often a result of the time it takes to assemble significant numbers of teams and equipment4 required to deal with wildfires.
Tackling carbon emissions
Many Fire and Rescue Services are educating the public about preventing fires and learning how to better protect the natural environment when they fight fires. Many brigades such as London, Greater Manchester and Avon are responsibly working towards becoming net zero or carbon positive by 2050.5
By following sustainable principles, using longer-lasting, reused, repaired and re-manufactured products, irradicating or limiting the use of toxic fluorine-based firefighting foams and limiting carbon spread, Fire Services can all do their bit. Similarly, stopping fires at fast pace is crucial for limiting carbon release, and with vegetation acting as a form of carbon capture for our environment, ensuring that the fire does not spread must be a high priority as a matter of global protection. Training facilities are also advised to enact carbon-conscious methods of firefighting in the present day.
But if we want our fire services to be properly prepared to protect our environment now and into the future, they need to be provided with the resources to do so. With climate change, we can expect longer and more intense heatwaves and drier springs and summers. The frequency of wildfires will inevitably continue to increase, along with the risk of fatalities among firefighters and civilians. Whilst to date there have been no recorded firefighter casualties in the UK as a direct result of wildfires, they exist in many other countries, and precautions need to be taken to prevent it from ever happening here in the UK.
References
3. UK Wildfires and their Climate Challenges, University of Exeter, global systems Institute
5. https://www.fbu.org.uk/publications/climate-change-key-issues-fire-and-rescue-service
About the Author
Brian Hesler is a Consultant and Specialist Advisor at Draeger Safety UK and former Chief Fire Officer for the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.
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