THE fire service says plans are in place to respond to wildfires in the Forest should they occur, with a drought having been officially declared in Gloucestershire last week.

The county’s fire and rescue scrutiny committee will be briefed on Friday (September 2) about how prepared the fire service is to deal with a potential future increase in heat waves and wildfires, following a prolonged period of dry weather this summer.

The Forest is the most significant area of risk of wildfire in Gloucestershire, with 42.5 square miles of mixed woodland.

Historically, the UK has experienced periodic severe wildfire seasons, which have tended to coincide with extended periods of warm and dry weather, sometimes accompanied by high winds.

The risk of wildfires is also affected by the size, condition and dryness of the fuel.

Increased rainfall before warm, dry periods can cause rapid vegetation growth that can increase the risk of wildfires when the vegetation later dries.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) has seven fire engines, three four-by-fours and the ‘Unimog’ all terrain vehicle at its disposal in the Forest.

All firefighters at Lydney, Coleford, Cinderford and Newent fire stations are familiar with the tactical plan to deal with a wildfire and have good local knowledge.

In addition, supporting assets from across the service could be mobilised, including the bulk water/foam carrier and high volume pumping.

And the service has a memorandum of understanding in place with Gloucestershire Constabulary to access their drone (UAV) assets, which would provide aerial images to aid situational awareness for responders on the ground.

In November last year, 13 fire officers from Gloucestershire attended a two day wildfire awareness course run by National Resilience and Northumbria Fire and Rescue Service and the intention is to train an extra four officers to become national tactical advisors on wildfires.

GFRS says it has also been proactive in implementing measures to prevent such a fire.

Their community safety team have been getting messaging out around the issue of wildfires across all social media platforms in an effort to promote safety to homeowners and visitors to the Forest of Dean.

And the business fire safety team have been engaging with commercial organisations and industrial companies within the area to promote good fire safety messaging and behaviours in an effort to minimise the risk.

Meanwhile, county fire chiefs are set to be quizzed over failures to look after its staff and keep the public safe at Friday’s scrutiny committee.

Serious concerns were raised in a review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate this year about a “bad culture” within the service.

The inspectorate also found the service requires improvements at effectively keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.

Chief Fire Officer Mark Preece said in a recent interview he is committed to improving the fire service but it may take some time to change people’s perception of it.

He added: “In whatever emergency, we will be there in a timely fashion. That has never wavered. We have got professional and competent staff who are really committed to their communities and want to take the service forward.”