Crews pushed to limits as weekend fires burn

27/07/2026

Several fires across the county this weekend pushed firefighters to their limits.

Crews responded to around 20 incidents in a matter of hours on Saturday, including two field fires requiring multiple fire engines to attend. Sunday continued to be busy throughout the day, culminating in a further field fire requiring around 50 firefighters to attend in Whittlesey.

Starting at around 3pm on Saturday with a house fire in Peterborough, crews were called to six incidents within an hour, which included a fire in a field in March involving a static caravan, along with another large field fire in Peakirk near Peterborough. Three further fires in the open occurred in the following hour, with a further field fire at around 5.30pm in Chatteris.

Group Commander James Ball said: “I want to say a sincere thank you to all our crews that were involved in responding to the numerous incidents we had throughout the weekend. The professionalism, commitment and willingness to support colleagues, in what were challenging conditions, was great to see and very much appreciated.

“A particular thank you also goes to Fire Control, who worked under considerable pressure over the weekend. Their calm and effective management of our crews and officers was instrumental in ensuring we were able to maintain our response across the county.”

As the hot weather looks set to continue, residents are urged to stay fire safe while enjoying the sunshine.

James added: “We know everyone will be wanting to make the most of the hot weather, we just want to highlight that everyone can do this safely just by thinking beforehand and following a few of our fire safety tips.

“Having a BBQ is a great way to get together with family and friends, but they can easily lead to a fire if people don’t follow some basic safety tips. Things like keeping the area supervised and lighting the BBQ away from fencing, buildings and garden furniture, keeping a bucket of water close by, and only disposing of the charcoal ashes once completely cooled.

“Ideally, we would advise residents to avoid lighting bonfires and garden fires. They can quickly get out of hand and spread to nearby buildings, fences and vegetation, which can cause significant damage and put people at risk, particularly as everything is so dry at the moment as we’ve had little rain. We would always recommend using the local waste collection service or visiting local recycling centres instead for garden waste.”

If you are planning to have a BBQ:

• Use barbeques on a hard, flat surface away from grass, shrubs or fencing
• Put disposable barbeques on bricks, do not place directly on grass
• Only dispose of the ashes when completely cool.

Below are some useful safety tips to consider:

• Dispose of garden waste using either a local waste pick up service, or take it to a local recycling centre. Do not light a bonfire!
• Ensure cigarettes are completely out
• Do not leave glass bottles lying on the ground – the sun’s rays reflect through the glass and can start a fire
• Move any mirrors away from windowsills.

James added: “One of our biggest risks during these spells of hot weather is fires on rural farmland. This is because of a number of factors, such as fire spreading quickly across dry land and securing an adequate water supply, as well as finding and accessing the correct location of the incident. We’ve seen already this weekend the challenges these fires can bring and how devastating they can be.

“Farm fires can result in the loss of machinery, livestock, stores of hay and straw and the destruction of buildings. A serious fire on a farm can affect the financial stability of even the most well run business.”

Below are some top tips for farms to be prepared in case of fire:

• Download the What3words app to give a precise location to emergency services 
• Ensure your farm is clearly signposted and make sure you keep all access routes clear in case emergency vehicles need to access the site 
• Always keep escape routes clear and free from rubbish or combustible materials 
• Always carry a mobile phone in case you need to make an emergency call
• Keep a list of useful telephone numbers with you
• Plan ahead  
• Make sure everyone on the farm knows the fire plan 
• Keep any firefighting equipment easily accessible and ensure everyone knows where it’s stored 
• Ensure any firefighting equipment is serviced regularly to keep it in good working order 
• Make sure you have an animal evacuation plan for your livestock in the event of a fire
• Do not store flammable items near livestock.