Grass Fires in Lydd

Six fire engines and a water unit are currently fighting several seats of fire at The Ranges, in Galloways Road, Lydd.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service received the call to the site just before 5.30am. Local retained firefighters from Lydd and New Romney, who were the first on scene, were confronted with a large area of undergrowth alight, approximately 600 by 200 metres long and immediately called for support.

The fire fighting operation has been helped by use of the water unit, which is transporting water to the scene and the Army has provided 4x4 vehicles to assist crews with accessing remote areas of the fire that cannot be reached by a standard fire appliance. Firefighters are tackling the fire with hose reel jets, flex packs and beaters which have been specifically designed to fight fires of this nature.

This is the third large grass fire in this area that fire crews have been called to since 27 June. The dry weather is thought to be behind the cause of the fires, but fire crews are urging people to be extra careful in the countryside as conditions are dry. Following a few common sense guidelines such as never discarding cigarettes out of car windows and always making sure children know of the dangers of deliberately starting fires, can greatly reduce the impact the warm weather can have on the fire and rescue service.