UK wildfires hospitalise three firefighters near Birmingham

Three firefighters were hospitalised while fighting a wildfire near Stourbridge, southwest of Birmingham, as British fire services faced multiple blazes during high temperatures and drought conditions.

Phil Garrigan, head of the National Fire Chiefs Council, told BBC Radio 4 on Friday that fire and rescue services had been “under significant pressure” during a difficult and busy period.

Images from Stourbridge showed scorched fields and burnt homes after a fire spread on Thursday. Residents were evacuated, and people were treated for smoke inhalation.

The West Midlands region, where Stourbridge is located, and nearly three-quarters of England were in drought after weeks of high temperatures and little rain.

West Midlands Fire Service said on Friday it was making progress against the blaze, which it said had several points of origin. Emergency services said at least six properties were affected and that some fires were set deliberately in grasslands before spreading.

Simon Tuhill, chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service, called it one of the most significant incidents the service had attended. He said “tinder dry” conditions helped the fire spread quickly and that the damage was extensive.

The National Fire Chiefs Council warned that wildfire risk was growing faster than response capacity, citing climate change, prolonged extreme heat and changing land use as factors creating more frequent, larger and more complex wildfires.