Soldiers praised for 'phenomenal job' helping crews tackle wildfires

A chief fire officer has praised soldiers for supporting crews tackling wildfires in south Wales.

Fin Monahan said South Wales Fire and Rescue Service was under severe pressure and very grateful to seven other fire services and the military for help.

About 200 members of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, with support from 22 Royal Engineers, Royal Logistics Corp and Army helicopters have been been involved.

Crews from London, Cumbria and elsewhere have also been providing support.

Monahan told the BBC the UK and Welsh governments took "a very serious step" in bringing in the military but the "extra capacity" was needed as crews fought dozens of fires across the country.

He said his firefighters have "very specialist skills" to tackle wildfires with military assistance enabling him to "focus all of that in the right place".

Soldiers have been providing logistical support, including water distribution, to assist firefighters and specialist responders.

Monahan described the soldiers as "doing an utterly phenomenal job digging trenches and also helping us build fire breaks".

"That has liberated lots of our firefighters to go and do their more specialist skills of firefighting."

In south Wales, about 14 separate fires were being tackled by crews on Sunday.

Mid and West Wales Fire Rescue and Service said crews were dealing with blazes at Rhandirmwyn and Ammanford in Carmarthenshire and Hay-on-Wye and Brecon in Powys on Sunday.

They have also attended fires in Gorseinon, Swansea, and Tenby, Pembrokeshire, as well as an incident involving smoke in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, said a fire in Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Taf, had been "appalling" and he thanked crews from London who had provided assistance.

"Thankfully, there are fire engines from all over the UK and two helicopters have been in place all afternoon.

"I'm immensely impressed by the fire workers. But this can't be our new normal," he said, in a post on X, external on Saturday.

Monahan praised the Royal Logistics Corps and Royal Engineers in ensuring crews had water to tackle the fires.

"The Welsh water system is under pressure, so they're moving vast quantities of water from areas that we have it into areas where we're fighting the fire, so that we don't put too much pressure on the water system," he said.

"That's something people probably aren't aware of."

He also said the national emergency fire alert issued by the UK government to people's mobile phones in England and Wales on Friday was "absolutely necessary".

But he expressed disappointment that some people still did not appreciate the dangers.

"Even after that transmission, I stopped and found someone who was burning tyres underneath a tree.