Concerns have been raised about how drought affects the UK’s ability to cope with wildfires after MPs were told firefighters struggled for water supplies during this year’s record summer.
The government has been urged to set out water companies’ statutory responsibilities during major fire incidents to improve the country’s preparedness for the years ahead.
The UK experienced its hottest-ever summer this year, with prolonged dry periods and extreme heat fuelling wildfires across the country. Figures released earlier this month showed a clear upward trend in the number of fires recorded each year.
The chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFFC), Phil Garrigan, told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs (EFRA) committee that fires developed more quickly because of limited water supplies. He said concerns about water availability had grown during his 37 years in the fire service.
During a wildfire in Stourbridge in the West Midlands that destroyed several homes, replenishing a water carrier took almost 40 minutes because of reduced water pressure.
In tackling a separate wildfire in the New Forest in August, the fire service said maintaining water supply had been a significant challenge.
Fire services take water from mains and open sources such as lakes and rivers. With levels in the latter extremely low as result of the drought, the fire service’s access was restricted. It also faced pressure to limit its use of mains water to avoid shortages for paying customers.
“In summers like this year, we would normally ask for more resources, but those resources aren’t always available and we’re having to wait longer for additional resources or we’re having to find other ways to deal with the fire,” said Dave Swallow, the NFCC’s deputy lead on wildfires.
A survey of UK fire and rescue services in the summer found that 81% of respondents had changed their emergency response plans in areas where access to water was a concern.
The NFCC, which conducted the survey, said growing pressure from climate breakdown, population growth, housing development and emerging infrastructure such as datacentres, was increasing demand on an already stretched water network.
“Firefighters cannot fight fires without water. That sounds obvious, yet our evidence shows four in five fire and rescue services have had to change response plans because of concerns about firefighting water supplies,” Garrigan said in the summer.
As the climate crisis worsens and demand for water increases, the Environment Agency estimates that England’s public water supply could be short by 5bn litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources.
The EFRA committee has called for water for firefighting to be recognised as a critical public safety requirement. It said the government should establish a statutory framework and national protocol setting out water companies’ responsibilities during major fire incidents, including minimum expectations for water supply and pressure, communication and operational coordination with fire and rescue.
The committee also said water companies should be required to assess, test and verify their ability to support firefighting operations.
“Water companies must be relied upon for adequate supply,” the committee chair, Alistair Carmichael of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said.
A government spokesperson said: “Improving wildfire preparedness is a major government priority. That’s why this week we are holding a summit with government ministers, fire and rescue leaders, land managers and other partners to understand how we can strengthen the response to this increasing risk.”
A government-funded UK wildfire conference is scheduled to take place in Leeds on 10 and 11 November.
