Latest editorial
A large wildfire in woodland at Lickey Hills Country Park on the edge of Birmingham. About sixty firefighters are tackling the blaze which broke out at the beauty spot earlier today, July 18, 2022
FIRE services need “urgent action” from the next government if they are to cope with a repeat of the 2022 heatwave and wildfires which saw firefighters pushed to breaking point, their union has warned.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said Britain’s fire and rescue services are “fragmented, overstretched and chronically underfunded” at a time when climate change is causing record-breaking temperatures and an increased risk of heatwaves.
He said firefighters were “pushed to breaking point” on July 19, 2022, when record temperatures and wildfires saw London Fire Brigade take 3,000 calls.
![Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks in front of a live map of smoke movement during a press conference updating media on ongoing forest fires in Ontario, in Toronto [Pic: Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-07/8canadafire.jpg.webp?itok=9a8C3kap)
As Ontario burns, campaigners are demanding action – not more pipelines, says DAVE McKEE
Emergency phone alerts could help Britain respond to rising wildfire risk, but Australia’s experience suggests they work best as part of a broader strategy, write ELLIOT CONVERY-FISHER and KATE PARKINS
