Public urged to remain vigilant as dry spell sparks gorse blazes across country

Vivienne Clarke

Dermot Brannigan, the Chair of the Chief Fire Officers Association, is encouraging the public to remain “mindful, vigilant and careful” when out in natural habitats during the current warm weather and to be conscious of the impact of human actions.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland in reaction to a number of fires in Kerry, Cork, Westmeath, Brannigan said that most of the fires had been accidentally started with people discarding glass or disposable barbeque sets not being extinguished and discarded properly.

“The message that we need to get across this morning, and for the next number of weeks during this lovely fine weather spell that we are having, is that we be mindful and be vigilant and be careful when you're out in our natural habitat, and be conscious of the impact that it can have, and your impact may have on where fire is concerned.

“Most people are unknowingly aware of the danger.”

Most local authority fire services have responded to a significant number of gorse fires in the last number of weeks due to this prolonged spell of dry weather, he said.

“It is anticipated that if this spell of dry weather continues, that we will have to respond to a number of similar types of calls, albeit that most of these incidents are relatively small and localised in nature, involving predominantly gorse and grassland.

Brannigan explained that with prolonged periods of dry weather the susceptibility to fire increases. “I would be mindful that Ireland is not like Europe in many ways, or Central Europe.

"Our vegetation generally, the sap rises in there between maybe March and May, which is probably the most vulnerable periods of the fire service, gorse fire periods.

“Now, a prolonged period, and I'm speaking in periods of several weeks, can intensify the ignitability of gorse or wildland, and then hence cause the fire very quickly. And I think the upland nature of any particular fire, or prolonged exposure to fire, can intensify very quickly. So wind, heat, all have an intensifying factor in relation to fires of this particular nature.”