Coronavirus Northern Ireland: DAERA Minister urges halt to ‘prescribed fires ‘ | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Coronavirus Northern Ireland: DAERA Minister urges halt to ‘prescribed fires ‘

DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has urged farmers and land managers to halt all prescribed burning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to reduce additional pressures on Northern Ireland’s emergency services.

Speaking to Newry Times, Minister Poots said, “Prescribed burning is a method of land management used to improve our game habitat and the quality of grazing in areas of upland dominated by heather.

“Landowners and managers usually carry out prescribed burning from mid-March to mid-April, because weather and ground conditions best suit the work.

 

 

“However, prescribed burning can be one of the causes of wildfires that then requires Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), PSNI, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Forest Service to act.

“As we work our way through this crisis no one should start a fire in the countryside and place a further strain on our already stretched emergency services.

“The NIFRS, for example, cannot currently guarantee they will be able to provide the normal level of response to wildfires,” he revealed.

DAERA is advising landowners and managers to stop any prescribed burning operations during the remainder of the prescribed burning season, which closes at midnight on April 14 and not to recommence any prescribed burning until September 1.

 

 

If a prescribed burn is absolutely essential, a full risk assessment should be carried out as per normal procedures and this must now also consider the reduced availability of NIFRS to respond to any escaped fires.

And, it is even more important than normal that sufficient personnel and resources are available to manage the fire.

Assistant Chief Fire & Rescue Officer Alan Walmsley, NIFRS, commented, “The Covid-19 pandemic will lead to significant pressures on NIFRS including a reduction in the number of frontline Firefighters available for emergency response. 

“We would, therefore, appeal to farmers to support us by not carrying out controlled burning at this time and appeal to the public to be fire safe.”

The public are also urged to exercise common sense in the countryside. For example, always extinguish smoking materials properly; never throw cigarette ends out of car windows and be considerate in parking vehicles so as not to block access for emergency vehicles.

 

 

The public are also reminded that deliberate setting of wildfires is a criminal offence and if you see anyone setting a fire you should call the PSNI immediately.

Minister Poots added, “Wildfires are rarely natural. They are almost always started either deliberately, or by careless behaviour.”

 

Keep up to date with all the latest Northern Ireland Coronavirus / Covid-19 news HERE

 

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Posted by on Apr 3 2020. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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