Moor fire lasting 40 days put North Yorkshire firefighters under strain

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 16:13 · Archive

A 40-day moor fire in North Yorkshire in August last year caused welfare and staffing pressures for firefighters, a report has found.

The Langdale and Fylingdales Moor fire began on 11 August and burned for more than 40 days, covering nearly 10 square miles at its height. An investigation found it was likely caused by someone cooking using a campfire or gas burner.

A report on the emergency response has raised concerns about the demands placed on firefighters during the prolonged incident and its impact on their welfare. The fire put pressure on senior officers, full-time firefighters, on-call crews and volunteers. Extended deployments began to affect on-call firefighters' main jobs and their availability for other emergency duties, and the report questions expectations for firefighters to continue working beyond their normal shifts.

As a result, the service has been advised to develop better arrangements for relieving and rotating crews during lengthy incidents to protect staff welfare and maintain emergency cover. The report also highlights wider concerns about the availability of on-call firefighters across North Yorkshire, particularly in rural communities where fire stations rely heavily on personnel with other jobs. Recruiting and retaining sufficient on-call firefighters remains a major challenge, with employment commitments, training requirements and difficulties filling specialist roles all contributing to the problem. The findings will be considered by the York and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel next week.

How it is being reported

• Huge moor fire put firefighters under pressure as crews battled blaze for 40 daysFylingdales Moor fire report warns North Yorkshire firefighters faced welfare pressures and staffing shortages after the blaze burned for more than 40 days.The Northern Echo · 10 Oct, 16:00
• Huge moor fire put firefighters under pressure as crews battled blaze for 40 daysFylingdales Moor fire report warns North Yorkshire firefighters faced welfare pressures and staffing shortages after the blaze burned for more than 40 days.Darlington & Stockton Times · 10 Oct, 16:00

In this story: North Yorkshire · Langdale Moor · Fylingdales Moor · York and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem