Firefighters Thanked After Heat Sparks Major Blazes

Leicestershire’s chief Fire officer has thanked the hard work of firefighters who fought major blazes at the height of yesterday’s heat.

The service declared a ‘Major Incident’ due to the unpresented demand, as it received over 200 emergency calls during the day.

Pic: Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service

Crews from the Harborough District helped tackle a large field fire in Uppingham, which was one of 49 incidents attended across the county.

Other major incidents included a fire at a recycling plant in Leicester and a large barn fire at Walton on the Wolds.

Callum Faint, Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, said: “We have stood down from major incident, as we now have sufficient resources available to respond to our communities across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

“Thank you to all of our employees for their amazing efforts in meeting todays challenges.”

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were also busy – yesterday was only the second time in more than a decade that it mobilised all of its on-call firefighters, made-up of around 190 people.