Suffolk farmers and firefighters team-up to combat county's fires
Glenn Buckingham, a farmer from Framsden who is the chair of the NFU in Suffolk, has two tanks on his farm that can each contain up to 1,000 gallons (4,546 litres) of water – enough to fill up five fire engines, which can empty in three minutes.When dealing with a fire, crews could use a new universal coupling device to connect to the tanks."The loss of a crop or machinery, or heaven forbid someone suffers burns in a fire, would be dramatic, and we want to help stop that," added Mr Buckingham.
"We don't mind who we help and we are happy for firefighters to come along whenever to take [water] for whatever type of fire it might be," he added."It's about looking out for each other and helping each other and if we have got water available then surely it is right to be helping," he said.
The idea for the collaboration was first raised in November 2022 after the SFRS recorded its most severe wildfire season in more than a decade, with crews tackling 370 wildfires in July and August."I was therefore very encouraged by the idea that a simple adapter could help our firefighters work more efficiently when tackling fires in the open," said Jon Lacey, SFRS's chief fire officer."Even though the current weather has taken a cooler turn and the immediate risk of large-scale wildfires is reduced, harvesting is under way."That's why it's important to remain vigilant."
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