MULTIPLE agencies worked together at a fire in Upton which is believed to have been set deliberately.
More than 60 firefighters from various stations rushed to Upton Heath just before 2.30pm on Thursday, August 4 to tackle a blaze which destroyed around 0.6 hectares of land and forced wild animals to be moved to safety.
With the only viable access point to the fire being along a slip road from the Upton roundabout onto the A35, police and members of Dorset Council closed the slip to allow dozens of fire engines to enter the scene.
Also assisting the service were representatives from the Urban Heaths Partnership and Dorset Wildlife Trust, who were able to remove the livestock from the flames while firefighters worked to put it out.
Residents were told to avoid the area.
Fire at Upton Heath. Photo: Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
At the scene, incident commander Alan Frias-Robles told the Echo: “At approximately 2.30pm we received reports of this fire in Upton Heath. Fire crews from Redhill, Westbourne, Ringwood and Wimborne attended initially.
“At the height of the fire we had 10 fire engines, four ground rovers, two water tankers and a Unimog fighting the fire to stop it spreading before it reached the overhead power poles.
The incident commander just told me that the fire, which destroyed 0.6 hectares of wasteland, is now fully contained. Crews will continue to dampen for at least another 2 hours. @Bournemouthecho pic.twitter.com/CA7TboeOZX
— Andrew Goldman (@AndrewDailyEcho) August 4, 2022
“We were lucky that the fire was in a fairly thin strip and thankfully the wind conditions played a significant role in stopping it from spreading so quickly – that really helped us.
“As the site was limited to just one entrance and we had to close the two-lane road, crews worked very quickly and hard in hot conditions to stop the fire from spreading.”
Fire at Upton Heath on 4th August 2022
He added that although the cause of the fire is still being investigated, it is believed at this stage to have been set deliberately.
A warden from the Urban Heaths Partnership said the fire was “heartbreaking” but the livestock were saved by the quick response of multiple agencies.
Fire crews remained at the scene for several hours even after the fire was extinguished just after 4pm, and the Urban Heaths Partnership member said he would return the next day to further assess the extent of the damage to wildlife.
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