Date: 4th April, 2025
This week, DWFRS crews and control room staff have been extremely busy dealing with a spate of wildfires.
On Tuesday, 1st April, approx 50 firefighters were called at 2.08pm to a Fire in the Open at Moors Valley Country Park. Crews from Christchurch (x2), Redhill Park, Wimborne, Poole (x2), Westbourne, Verwood, two lightweight off-road vehicles from Verwood and Ferndown, alongside crew from Redbridge, Lyndhurst, and a water carrier from Ringwood (Hampshire & Isle of Wight FRS) attended. Firefighters used beaters, multiple hose reel jets and main lines to extinguish.
By 7.15pm good progress had been made to bring the fire under control and the incident was scaled back to six fire engines which remained on scene to manage localised hot spots. Security patrols took place over night to monitor the area and a reinspection took place on
A joint investigation with Hampshire & Isle of Wight FRS has taken place into the cause of the fire. At this stage we are unable to confirm the cause of the fire.
On Wednesday evening (2nd April) approx 80 firefighters from across the Service area were called to tackle a blaze at Upton Heath, after receiving the first of multiple 999 calls at 11.44pm. The fire affected an area of approx 50 hectares, and crews used hose reel jets and beaters to extinguish it. This was hard work in dark and arduous conditions.
Crews returned on Friday (4th April) to deal with some hotspots. They remained on scene to check for further hotspots and another reinspection is due later today (4th April).
The cause of this incident is believed to be human intervention, but we’ve not yet been able to establish whether that was malicious or accidental. The investigation will remain open for now.
Finally, at 5:25am on Thursday (3rd April) crews were called to deal with a fire at Canford Heath. Firefighters from across the Service area and from Hampshire & IoW FRS tackled the blaze, which has affected an area of around 500m x 50m. Many of these crews had been working through the night at the Upton Heath fire.
By 7am, the fire had been extinguished and work was underway to ensure that all hot spots were dampened down. The stop message was received just after 10am.
These fires are an important reminder to be extra careful when out enjoying our countryside during this dry and warm weather.
• Never leave barbecues unattended and dispose of them appropriately
• Don’t leave glass bottles in direct sunlight as this could start a fire
• Ensure cigarettes are fully extinguished and correctly disposed of.