Don’t barbecue on Frodsham Hill – a warning from the fire service

FIREFIGHTERS have expressed concern about the number of barbecues that have apparently been taking place on Frodsham Hill.
No serious fires have been reported on the Hill – but the use of disposable barbecues poses a serious risk.
A Fire Service spokesperson said: “The risk of fire in this dry spell is high. Grass fires are dangerous and a big drain on our resources.”
Some retail stores – including Marks and Spencer and Aldi – have removed disposable barbecues from their shelves – a move that has been welcomed by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
They said there had been a significant increase in demand for firefighters during the three day heatwave in July – and expressed concern that there could be a repeat if the forecast heatwave in the next few days came to pass.
There had been a number of serious fires occurring within a short space of time, including a farm fire near Frodsham, a major incident Middlewich and significant weather-related fires at Rixton, Mow Cop and Delamere Forest.
Resources were further stretched because of smaller scale, often avoidable, incidents such as fires caused by discarded disposable barbecues or deliberately ignited nuisance fires.
Head of Prevention and Protection, area manager Lee Shears, said: “While it is uncommon for us to be called out to several large-scale incidents within a short space of time, sadly it isn’t uncommon for us to be called to deal with grass and woodland fires caused by people not taking enough care in the countryside. We have seen an increasing number of these fires being started because the safe use, extinguishing and removal of disposable barbecues is not fully considered.”
Since the beginning of April to end of July Cheshire firefighters have been called to put out at least 25 fires involving disposable barbecues.