1 March 2008

Forest Fire Season

With the forest fire season fast approaching, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service have been working in partnership with the Conservators of Ashdown Forest to raise awareness of the potential devastation that forest fires can cause.

This follows an exercise on 21st February 2008 where firefighters from East Sussex and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services took part in a forest firefighting training session in Ashdown Forest.

Forest fires have the potential to burn for days, so it is vital that the correct procedures are followed to prevent them from starting in the first place. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service offer the following advice to anyone who uses the forest:

• Always extinguish and dispose of smoking materials properly and responsibly.
• Only use barbeques in the designated areas, and ensure that they are properly extinguished and have cooled down before putting into the bin.
• Don't drop litter. Items such as broken glass can cause fire by magnifying the sun's rays.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has been working closely with colleagues in West Sussex and Kent Fire and Rescue Services, to establish a common approach to fighting forest fires.

Matt Elder, Station Manager commented, "Working in partnership with other local Fire & Rescue Services allows us to develop the best practice for tackling these fires, which can have disastrous consequences. We will continue to develop techniques in the build up to and during the forest fire season."