Wildfires Yorkshire: Review needed into firefighting capacity - The Yorkshire Post says

After awful scenes of burning buildings and fields up in smoke amid record temperatures this week, our wholehearted gratitude goes to fire services up and down the country.

Unfortunately, it is these heroes who have to deal with ever-increasing instances of heat-related call-outs while suffering a lack of resources.

Such was the brutality of the heatwave for responders that West Yorkshire Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton issued a stark warning about climate change and the impact of future events.

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Wildfires Yorkshire: Photos show devastating aftermath of fire which started on ...
Strauss Crescent in Maltby, where a fire broke out this week.Strauss Crescent in Maltby, where a fire broke out this week.
Strauss Crescent in Maltby, where a fire broke out this week.
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“It’s about demand for fire engines and firefighters far, far outstripping the numbers that any reasonable person would expect to be available at any one time,” he said.

“It’s about a completely and fundamentally different operating environment where fires burn with such ferocity, and spread with such speed in suburban areas that you can’t stop them.”

Clearly, the infrastructure we have in order to deal with catastrophic events is not enough when it comes to the future climate change is bringing. We cannot expect firefighters to go out risking their own lives tackling fires in conditions of extreme heat without the capacity to effectively deal with them.

One of Boris Johnson’s last jobs as Prime Minister should be to instigate a comprehensive review of what services can handle so that a strategy can be formed to build up that necessary capacity.

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Meanwhile, thousands of pounds have been raised to help those in Yorkshire whose homes have been destroyed.

We commend their generosity and wish those affected a swift solution after a devastating day.