After work between the NFU and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, all front line appliances have been fitted with adaptors. These will allow firefighters to access farmers' water bowsers, providing access to vital additional water supplies when tackling fires in rural locations.
Arson Liaison & Community Risk and Resilience Officer Joe Gacon said: “Rural firefighting can pose many risks. Greater travel times for oncoming appliances and limited water sources often need to be taken in to consideration when formulating a plan of firefighting actions.
“Following incident debriefs from operational crews and conversations between farmers, the NFU and myself, it became clear that a simple bowser adaptor could enable our crews to gain access to existing on site water supplies.
“Watch Commander Quinton Roach, from our operational support group, has completed this work and we are pleased to say there will be a bowser adapter on every front line appliance within Cambridgeshire.”
NFU County Adviser Hannah Padfield said: “This is excellent news, as these adaptors will help to protect the wider community in rural areas. We will continue to work closely with firefighters, including by arranging site familiarisation visits to farms ahead of next summer's potential dry spells.”
Between 1 July and 1 September, crews attended 49 agricultural fires in Cambridgeshire, compared with 22 in 2021.