Moray senior fire officer urges public to take ‘really very easy’ steps to help prevent wildfires

A senior fire officer has urged the public to take some simple, common-sense steps to prevent wildfires.

Last weekend and the start of this week saw a total of 34 fire crews battle a number of fires across the east Highlands and west Moray, including at Dava, Alves, Dallas and Knockando.

With the blazes now under control and being monitored for flare-ups, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) Senior Officer in Moray, Group Commander Davie Hendry, has highlighted that a few moments of carelessness or thoughtlessness can have a devastating impact.

The smallest - and often least likely - of things can spark and major blaze tying up dozens of fire crews and potentially endangering lives and property.

Mr Hendry explained: “A wide number of things can start a wildfire.

“Disposable barbecues and camp fires are a frequent cause, as are discarded cigarettes which haven’t been properly extinguished.

“Glass bottles and lightning strikes are other things which can cause a fire.

“Even planned, controlled burns on land can get out of hand and become a wildfire.”

His advice was quite simple.

“Don’t light campfires or use disposable barbeques - if everything’s dry and it’s windy it can spiral out of control very quickly.

“If you’re out in the countryside don’t leave stuff lying around which could potentially cause a wildfire, it’s really very easy.

“Another thing I’d like to stress is that if people spot a fire when they’re out and about, it’s vital that they report it at an early stage, no matter how trivial or unimportant you may think it is.

“Please don’t leave it for someone else to report, it may have become a lot more serious by then and more difficult to fight.

“Also be alert for fire and look for warnings from the SFRS when there may be a heightened danger for the likes of wildfires.

Although the Moray wildfires may have been dramatic, Mr Hendry believes that the overall occurrence of such blazes have not noticeably increased.

He continued: “I think the fires we’ve seen so far are roughly comparable to the one at Paul’s Hill in the Forres, Knockando and Dallas areas back in 2019.

“I don’t believe we’re necessarily seeing more of them, I think it’s more a case of people are more aware of them and it’s reported more quickly and prominently in the media and on social media than in previous years.

“These wildfires can be unpredictable but the SFRS have more and better resources than ever before to fight them. We have specialist wildfire advisor officers who are highly trained to predict how wildfires will spread and determine the best tactics to fight them.

“Firefighters have access to specialist equipment to fight these fires, including tools to cut firebreaks and All Terrain Vehicles.

“It’s a far cry from when i started when all you had was a handbeater and a hose. It’s great to see how it’s all evolved.”