Thirty firefighters and more than 60,000 litres of water were used to tackle a 1km wildfire in the area of Mill Road in Greeba yesterday.
A fire service statement said: 'Upon arrival the attending junior officer identified that the fire had been caused as a result of a controlled burn that was no longer under control.
Approximately 1km of fire in a remote location required:
- 30 firefighters from 3 fire stations, working in very hot and humid conditions
- Two police officers
- More than 60,000 litres of water
- Two major fire appliances
- Three off-road vehicles
- One water bowser
- One duty officer
- Two ancillary vehicles
- A portable dam
- 500m of hose and hose reels
- Eight beaters
- Two aqua packs
The statement added: 'Aside from the expense that this costs the taxpayer, all of these resources were tied up and unavailable for other emergency responses for six hours.
'And let’s not forget the extra pressure on the emergency services joint control room staff who have to coordinate all these assets as well as dealing with the many other emergency calls that happen at the same time.
'Please consider this before deciding to burn off or set any outside fires in the summer months.'