FIREFIGHTERS – including Keighley crews – are to be given extra training in dealing with wildfires.

The move comes after blazes devastated swathes of moorland, including areas of Ilkley and Marsden moors, last year.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service says the fires, over the Easter bank holiday weekend, “tested the capabilities” of the service – and one firefighter suffered serious burns while trying to bring them under control.

These and other recent moorland fires led to the service carrying out a wildfire review, which has now been published.

It found that the service had “insufficient dedicated wildfire capability” and the report makes a number of suggestions of how crews could be more prepared for future moor fires.

Among the recommendations are that some fire crews, including those based at Keighley, be trained to pilot a so-called Argocat – a dune-buggy-style vehicle designed to get to hard-to-reach hilly areas.

Work to train Keighley crews is due to take place in June.

Other suggestions made in the review include issuing more firefighters with protective equipment specially designed for tackling wildfires, creating a specialised ‘burns team’ within the service that would use controlled burning to stop the spread of fire and boosting training to prepare crews for unique situations that tackling moorland blazes can throw up.

The review, which goes before West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s community safety committee today, says: “The April bank holiday weekend saw West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attend simultaneous major incidents at Marsden and Ilkley Moor.

“The fire on Marsden Moor started on Sunday, April 21, and burned for three days, during which time the fire spread over three square miles of moorland.

“The financial impact on the service over that weekend was an extra £45,000 due to requiring further firefighting resources and loss of equipment.

“The cost to the Natural Trust in regenerating the moorland is estimated to be £500,000.

“During Monday, April 22, crews were dealing with challenging firefighting due to the hot weather, distances to the fire front and the severity of the conditions. The continuing change in fire behaviour required three emergency evacuations throughout the day, one of these leading to a firefighter receiving serious burns to the head.

“The service had also committed 15 appliances at Ilkley Moor, placing a large stretch on resources across West Yorkshire. These incidents highlighted a number of issues.”

The Argocat has the ability to cross rough terrain and carries its own water supply. It is an eight-wheel-drive vehicle with two operators, although it can be adapted for six firefighters to be carried.