NEW plans to tackle wildfires have been unveiled amid fears the spring could bring another wave of the devastating outbreaks which have plagued the Highlands.
A hand-picked squad of officers with specialist knowledge and training will be created to try to ease the massive strain put on the fire service during long spells of dry weather over the past few years.
Ironically, the measures are being unveiled as brigade chiefs continue to face a backlash from the public and politicians over their decision to axe vital control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen. Crews tackled about 240 wildfires in just four weeks in March and April last year.
At one point, firefighters across the Highlands and islands were trying to bring 50 separate blazes under control and helicopters were used in isolated areas to water-bomb the flames.
Two senior north-based firefighters will now be in charge of efforts to reduce the number of incidents, which caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage last year.
Garry Burnett will take on a new full-time position dealing with the management and prevention of wildfires.
The north of Scotland’s top firefighter, Assistant Chief Officer Robert Scott, will be at the helm of the Scottish Wildfire Forum (SWFF), whose members include landowners.
Mr Scott hopes the tough new approach to the problem will raise awareness, encourage public responsibility and reduce demand on the service during the wildfire season.
The announcement of the strategy follows the launch of the UK’s first Wildfire Operational Guidance Manual by the group last year.
Mr Scott said: “In addition to the launch of the guidance manual, we have committed significant resources to training a number of senior officers to an advanced level to ensure we have experts available across the country to attend and control wildfire incidents.
“We have trained over 100 supervisory managers, based in fire stations most likely to attend these types of incidents, to ensure they do so safely and to maximum effect.”
The new wildfire measures have been announced as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service forges ahead with plans to close control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen and route 999 calls through Dundee instead.
Newly-appointed Mr Burnett will be based in Aberdeen and will have a specific brief of dealing with wildfires.
He said: “For me, personally, I am delighted to be returning to the wildfire environment nearly 10 years after supporting the delivery of the first ever Scottish Wildfire Forum back in 2005. I am also highly focused to ensure improved development of our firefighters and incident managers, benefiting firefighter safety when tackling wildfires.”
Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham MSP welcomed the move. “Wildfires can have a truly devastating impact on communities, agriculture and environment across the country, and particularly the north of Scotland,” she said. “The Wildfire Operational Guidance has provided fire and rescue services with an invaluable source of information on how to tackle the behaviour, prevention and management of wildfire.”
Drew McFarlane-Slack, Highland manager for Scottish Land and Estates, said: “Together we can pool our resources and experience in a bid to reduce the number of wildfires in Scotland, which have a damaging effect on our environment and communities.”
Comment, Page 32