Firefighters battling grassland blazes say thanks for donations of sunhats and suncream

HARD-pressed firefighters have thanked the public for the donations which have helped them deal with a busy summer of blazes.

Richard Beecher, Rotherham branch and divisional representative for the Fire Brigades’ Union, said fire crews battling open-air fires during the heatwave had been offered food, water, sun cream, sunhats and insect repellent by residents, many of whom had also offered the use of their toilets.

“These generous offers truly lift our spirits and, on behalf of the FBU, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

As reported by the Advertiser, fire crews across Rotherham have been tackling numerous fires on grassland and open land over the past two months, with many taking several hours or even longer to deal with.

Mr Beecher said the fire service was under unprecedented pressure, with firefighters at some stations working shifts of up to 96 hours over four days.

“Over the last few weeks we have had to deal with unprecedented numbers of calls and on many occasions we have had to rely on neighbouring counties to prop up our numbers,” he said, noting how a “close proximity crewing” system had cut staffing levels.

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