World Environment Day

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Saturday 5th June is World Environment Day

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is raising awareness of the devastating environmental impacts of wildfires – including those affecting moorland.


Working with local partners, GMFRS continues to remind people of the importance of preventing these kinds of incidents and avoiding the devastation and disruption that wildfires bring with them.

A typical wildfire in the UK can be disastrous for the environment. Fires can displace or even destroy wildlife and habitats, damage peatland – vital to storing carbon – for decades, and cause countless other environmental hazards, including risks to human health.

GMFRS recently launched their first ever Fire Plan, outlining work which the organisation will undertake to help make Greater Manchester safer. The plan includes six priorities and a series of commitments to residents, businesses, and partners across Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester’s first Fire Plan

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GMFRS Station Manager Dave Swallow, who is also the deputy wildfire lead with the National Fire Chiefs’ Council, said in a press release: 

“GMFRS is committed to supporting Greater Manchester’s Five-Year-Environment Plan, and as outlined in its new Fire Plan will be refreshing its Sustainability Strategy to ensure the Service is resilient to potential impacts of the climate emergency.

“Wildfires can have a hugely negative impact on the environment, and the release of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere is also a contributing factor to climate change. This is why we continue to urge people to take care when visiting the countryside and never be tempted to light barbecues or campfires on the moors."

Dave Swallow added:

“We are now approaching the third anniversary of the 2018 moorland fires, which remain fresh in the minds of everyone involved - from our firefighters who worked incredibly hard to put the fires out, to the residents who were forced from their homes. There is no better time to remind people that the smallest action can have catastrophic consequences, putting people’s safety – and our natural environment – at risk.”

Peatlands, which are often damaged by wildfires – such as those which tore through parts of Greater Manchester and neighbouring areas in the summer of 2018 – can play a vital role in the fight against climate change, capturing carbon form the atmosphere, reducing flood risk, and supporting biodiversity. With hotter summers and wetter winters now becoming the norm, the risk from the effects of climate change is greater than ever before.

More relevant tweets from Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service

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