Crews attend 30 weather-related fires in three days

Norfolk Fire and Rescue service is asking the public to help reduce the risk of outdoors fires

A fire service is urging people to stay vigilant after it attended 30 weather-related incidents in the past three days.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue service said the incidents included field, grass and hay fires, rubbish fires and a fence fire.

On Saturday, it saw 12 fires "in the open", but revealed the number of incidents is not "exceptionally unusual" at this time of year.

However, the fire service said it is "not currently" under the same pressure as it was in 2022.

On 19 July 2022, a major incident was declared in Norfolk as the county faced temperatures of 39C (102F), with the fire service called out to 100 wild fires.

It says it is now "better placed" to deal with similar heatwave emergencies.

Homes, scrubs and trees were destroyed in Norfolk in 2022 when a major incident was declared

In 2023, a year on from the wildfires, Emyr Gough, the fire service's head of prevention and protection, said they had learnt a lot from the major incident and "changed our work priorities".

"If an event like last year was to happen again, we would have people well-rested and they could come on and replace the firefighters who were absolutely exhausted last year."

On Monday, which was declared the hottest day of the year in the United Kingdom so far, the fire service said it was called out to nine fires in the open, in addition to other non-weather related incidents.

A spokesperson said some of the incidents could be "avoidable".

"We’re generally asking for vigilance at this time of year. If people see a small fire, calling us early stops spread," they added.

"Using an app like W3W in a remote location helps us find the incident in a rural area.

"We encourage people to help reduce risk by not using disposable barbecues in woodland, field areas, taking litter home, and ensuring any smoking materials are fully extinguished."