Firefighters and public 'knowingly put at risk' during summer wildfires
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Firefighters said this summer's wildfires were the worst they had experienced Firefighters and the public were knowingly put at risk during this year's wildfires due to chronic underfunding, a union has said.
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Those working on the ground and in the South Wales control centre said the fires were relentless with injuries "commonplace" for crews.
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The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said firefighters were climbing hills in unsuitable boots and non-breathable layers used for house fires due to not having enough kit, and there was a "real risk to the public" if immediate action was not taken.
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The Welsh government said it did not provide core funding but "recognise the concerns raised and are clear that we need to do all we can to reduce the risk of wildfires".
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Sean Cayford said some injured firefighters from the wildfires are still not back at work Sean Cayford, a firefighter in Bridgend, said crews were told in mid-August that there were no pumps or fire appliances available across the brigade's entire region.
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"I've never heard that before but that was heard again later in the wildfire season.
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That was startling," he said.
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"One particular day we were at an incident on top of Tredegar mountain and as we looked around the landscape we could see in the region of six or seven other category three wildfires, the most serious type of wildfires, on the horizon, in every direction you looked." Cayford said even with help from other brigades from all over the UK, they "still didn't have enough" firefighters.
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"We were stretched so thinly," he said.
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"It has an increasingly destructive effect on the morale of our firefighters.
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"It's very difficult to be at a wildfire incident in excess of eight or 10 or 12 hours and not get injured to some degree." He said colleagues had sustained lower limb injuries and heat illness, with many still unable to work.
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Gemma Thomas said control room staff were exhausted Gemma Thomas, who works in the control centre, said the average number of calls is usually 200-300 but on their busiest day this summer they had almost 2,000.
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"It was just relentless in there," she said.
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"There were times where we were unable to fulfil the requests that were coming from the incidents.
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"We are the first point of contact for somebody who is having potentially the worst day of their life.
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"It was so stressful, mentally draining, that you're getting home from work absolutely shattered to think right I've got to go back and do it all again tomorrow."
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Thomas said there were times when staff needed to take breaks "one at a time for 10 minutes just to get people out of the room".
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"People were getting to the point where they were just shattered in work, shattered at home," she said, adding there was no work-life balance because they needed to use free time to rest.
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Thomas said support from management was "phenomenal" and "even the firefighters on the ground were understanding how stretched we were in the control room".
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But she does not believe they could sustain it long-term and wants to see an increase in numbers of firefighters.
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A wildfire above Cwm, Ebbw Vale, in August First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth held a climate change and resilience summit in Merthyr Tydfil on Thursday, which brought "key partners together to develop future actions".
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It hosted representatives from the fire services, police, local government, farmers and climate change organisations.
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"There was poor preparation," said Gareth Tovey, executive council member for Wales, explaining they redirected specialist crews such as water teams to the wildfires.
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"At some stages there was zero crew back up for vast parts of south Wales," he said.
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"Firefighters were injured because they didn't have the right kit to fight wildfires."
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The FBU said there was a shortfall of 400 firefighters in Wales.
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Tovey said the union had been warning "for years" authorities needed to do something and there was a "real risk to the public" if immediate action was not taken.
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He said bringing in the Army, was "not a silver bullet" as they do not have the firefighting skills needed.
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An FBU survey following the fires found 69% of firefighters felt significantly under-equipped, with just 8% feeling fully equipped.
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Nearly half reported welfare facilities during wildfire deployment were insufficient.
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Firefighters are funded by the public but through a levy decided by the local authority for the area.
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This is part of their budget, which is in turn set by the Welsh government.
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North Wales Fire and Rescue Service was applying to the Welsh government's emergency assistance scheme to cover the additional cost of the wildfires this summer.
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While the full financial impact is still being assessed, the cost was expected to exceed £500,000.
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At one point firefighters in north Wales were managing six wildfires at once - more than ever before. It comes as a report from the UK's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said the wildfires left firefighters working in extreme conditions and exposed weaknesses in the UK's resilience and preparation.
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It called for a UK government-funded "national wildfire prevention campaign" with clear and consistent messaging, along with wildfire risk indicators in weather forecasts.
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On Thursday, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth went to a climate change and resilience meeting On Thursday, ap Iorwerth said: "We are a resilient nation, we need to make sure that we are taking all the preventative steps necessary, we need to make sure that we have the capability and the capacity to respond to wildfires where they happen.
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"This is a government now that is building that network of partners that showed real determination at the summit this morning to deal with what is clearly now a very very real challenge in the here and now."
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He declined to confirm there would be more funding.
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"There is no escaping from the fact that we face very real financial challenges," he said.
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The Welsh government said individual fire and rescue authorities determine how many firefighters they need and set their budgets accordingly.
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"They should take this summer's wildfires into account when doing so," a spokesperson said.
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South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are incredibly proud of the professionalism, resilience and commitment shown by our firefighters, control colleagues and everyone who supported the response, often in extremely challenging conditions."
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"We recognise that the changing climate and evolving risks facing fire and rescue services mean we must continue to learn, adapt and strengthen our ability to respond when demand rises sharply."
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It said it was engaging with unions about the investment needed and would be a key voice at the summit.
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Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service's chief fire officer Craig Flanney added climate-related emergencies were having a real impact on communities, environment and public services, and require a collective effort.
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Natural Resources Wales' (NRW) national operations executive director, Dominic Driver, said: "The impacts of this summer's significant wildfires are still being felt across the country, going far beyond the visible scars left on the landscape.
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"They can be seen in the habitats destroyed, carbon stores depleted and damaged soils that will take many years to regenerate and recover.
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"We are focused on supporting nature's recovery and building resilience to this increasing challenge posed by climate change."
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He said NRW would be prioritising work to make Wales more climate-resilient.
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