Concerns are mounting regarding the adequacy of the national resilience framework following the major moorland fire near on the Yorkshire Coast that threatened critical military infrastructure this summer.
Political leaders and emergency services figures are calling for automatic activation mechanisms and a recognition that climate-driven incidents constitute a national, rather than merely regional, risk.
The focus on national preparedness comes after a major wildfire spread dangerously close to the ballistic missile early warning base at RAF Fylingdales. The severity of the incident prompted questions in the House of Commons about improving central government support for such events.
Alison Hume, Member of Parliament for Scarborough and Whitby, addressed the Minister of State, Dan Jarvis MP, seeking reassurance regarding future incidents.
“In August, a wildfire spread dangerously close to the ballistic missile early warning base at RAF Fylingdales. Given the increasing threat that wildfires pose to our security, could the minister consider automatically activating a national resilience response in future incidents where critical military infrastructure is under threat. "
"I commend the emergency services and the local community who came together to bravely tackle the fire.
The risk of wildfires to critical sites is well known to local responders who can call on central government for support.
The National Resilience Wildfire Advisor assesses what additional capabilities might be needed to increase resilience for future incidents.”
Local fire and police leadership has suggested that the existing regional support structure may be insufficient if multiple climate-related disasters strike simultaneously across the UK.
Jo Coles, the Deputy Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, who holds responsibility for police and fire services in the county, highlighted the potential strain on resources in a scenario where support services are stretched thin nationally.
Speaking about the broader challenges, Deputy Mayor Coles stated:
“If this had been a summer in which there had been wildfires in four or five places at the same time, the ability of all those national resilience services to be able to support us while retaining cover in their own areas, I think is not it's not a risk for North Yorkshire, it's a national risk.
But I think there is actually a wider issue to some of this which is about if this is a pattern, a climate driven pattern that we could see either in the winter months through flooding or in the summer months through fires. Actually, we just need to make sure there is a national resilience to some of this and not just for us regionally.”
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