“Thank you” to all after ‘major incident’ - South Yorkshire Police

A major incident was declared by the emergency services in on Tuesday in South Yorkshire due to the number of fires across the county.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “The unprecedented temperatures put further strain on all emergency services at an already busy time of the year.

"We haven’t seen temperatures like that before since records began.

“Firstly, we'd like to say a huge thank you to members of the public who heeded safety warnings and kept control room phone lines as clear as possible in an effort to help 999 crews protect the county.

“A number of fires were burning at the same time into the evening, and with resources stretched, the Blue Light family came together to protect those who live and work in our communities, and their property.

“South Yorkshire Police officers and staff worked throughout the afternoon and evening alongside South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, the National Police Air Service, the local authorities and other partner agencies.

"We want to add our thanks to all those involved for their tireless work in keeping the people of South Yorkshire safe.

“Here at SYP, our drone pilots were on hand to assist SYFR by flying over fires and locating hotspots (above) so our firefighting colleagues could aim their resources towards the blazes more quickly and accurately.

“Our officers also helped with evacuations and road closures as incidents were dealt with, and were often the first at the scene to begin helping out until additional support arrived.

“In addition, our officers remained present at scenes in extreme temperatures until fire investigations could commence – with a small number of our officers unfortunately suffering the effects of heat exhaustion in the process.

"They are thankfully now rested, rehydrated and returning to duty.

“Luckily, later into the evening, the overall picture improved, but our thoughts are with those who have lost homes and property. We are just so thankful that no lives were lost and nobody was seriously injured.

“Thanks finally to all those who have taken the time to send us a lovely social media comment, offer us a cold drink or simply given us a big thumbs up while we’ve carried out our work. It means the world.”