UK heatwave live: Child hospitalized as ‘apocalyptic’ wildfire tears through homes on hottest day of the year

Andy Burnham said he was in touch with local leaders in the West Midlands as firefighters continue to bring several wildfires in the region under control.

He said in a statement: “Awful to see homes and communities hit by fires across the country tonight as the heatwave continues.

“My thoughts are with everyone affected, particularly those who have been injured or forced from their homes, and with the firefighters who have been taken to hospital.

“I’m in touch with local leaders (including West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker) and will be speaking to emergency services on the ground as they continue their response.

“Our firefighters are working in incredibly difficult conditions and putting themselves at risk to keep others safe. A huge thank you to them and everyone supporting the effort tonight.

“Please stay safe and follow their advice.”

The public should only call 999 “where absolutely necessary” as emergency services are tackling fires across the West Midlands, a police chief has said.

West Midlands Police incident commander Chief Inspector Tom Clayton told a press conference on Thursday evening: “From a police perspective, we are going to do our best, I’d like to reassure the community of Stourbridge and the wider West Midlands.

“We’re going to do our absolute best to service their business-as-usual policing needs.

“However, as you can understand, we are experiencing very, very high demand assisting our colleagues in this multi-agency response”.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said he had spoken to Andy Burnham, who had pledged the fire and rescue services in the region would get any additional support they requested.

Mr Parker told Sky News: “Our plan is to visit the area tomorrow to speak to some people on the ground there.

“I don’t want to get in the way of the important work going on this evening, but I want them to know they have my full support, and I’ll be working with the local authorities and others across the region to see what we can do to support them at this really difficult time.

“I would also like to convey a message to them from the prime minister, who I spoke to earlier this evening, but has asked me if the fire service on the ground needs additional support, and I’ll be speaking to the chief officer a bit later, to ask him what we can do.

West Midlands Fire Service has dealt with “thousands of 999 calls” as more than 100 firefighters battled blazes across the region, chief fire officer Simon Tuhill has said.

He told a press conference on Thursday evening: “This is a large and complex incident that has occurred on one of the hottest days of the year.

“Our fire control team have been dealing with thousands of 999 calls, whilst coordinating attendance at other operational incidents across the West Midlands.

“The tinder-dry conditions that the country and the West Midlands are facing at the moment has meant that the fire has spread rapidly, despite the hundred-plus firefighters’ best efforts who are on scene and in attendance.

“Rest assured, they are doing everything they can to bring this incident to a safe conclusion.”

In Stourbridge a man, who declined to be named, said: “At about two o’clock I was working from home.

“I saw smoke come down and it was already at the corner of Racecourse Lane and Norton Road. It’s shocking.”

Several homes nearby had been damaged, including two which could still be seen smouldering near the brow of a nearby hill.

West Midlands Fire Service said six houses were affected by the large blaze in Stourbridge, which is estimated to cover 40 acres of land, including a wood.

Wollaston and Stourbridge town councillor Andrew Southall said care home residents have been evacuated alongside others as a result of the fire near Stourbridge golf course.

About 60 firefighters attended the scene after being alerted to the blaze at about 1.30pm.

In nearby Warwickshire, the county’s fire and rescue service said it is responding to a “large fire” in Salford Priors, Stratford-Upon-Avon, which has been declared a major incident.

Police, fire crews and ambulances are at the scene of the wildfire.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service was called at 2.30pm on Thursday to reports of smoke on Tothall Lane in Salford Priors.

In Stoke-on-Trent, north of Birmingham, fire has hit “a small number of properties and gardens”.

Crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue are on the scene of the blaze in the Goldenhill area.

Residents have been evacuated after homes were damaged as a blaze hit Pershore, where around 200 properties are without power and a person has suffered smoke inhalation.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said emergency services were called out at around 4.30pm on Thursday to deal with “a large” fire on Lancelott Court, off Three Springs Road.

Councillor Andrew Tromans, who represents Wollaston and Stourbridge Town on Dudley Borough Council, described the scene of the fire in Stourbridge as “apocalyptic”.

In a statement on Facebook, he said: “The apocalyptic scenes in Norton and across Stourbridge are sadly just a taste of what is to come if we don’t act.”

He added: “It is my view, and it has been for a while, that Dudley councillors must have an emergency meeting about we protect our borough from the impacts of climate change.”

Residents have been evacuated after homes were damaged by fire in Pershore, Worcestershire, where around 200 properties are without power and a person has suffered smoke inhalation.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said emergency services were called out at around 4.30pm on Thursday to deal with “a large” fire on Lancelott Court, off Three Springs Road.

A spokesman said: “One person has been treated for smoke inhalation. Thankfully no other injuries have been reported at this time.

“A number of homes have been damaged and 30 properties in the area have been evacuated.”

Residents in the wider area have been told to keep windows and doors closed as a precaution and surrounding roads have been temporarily shut.

The spokesman said “approximately 200 properties are currently without power”, adding: “We recognise this will be an upsetting time for the local community and would like to thank you for your patience and cooperation while we respond to the incident.”

Several homes in Stourbridge were severely damaged by fire, with a smouldering section of adjoining fields being damped down on Thursday night by worried homeowners carrying water in buckets and watering cans.

Fire crews could also be seen hosing down hedgerows and bushes near damaged homes close to the junction with Fairways Avenue.

One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “The fire came within feet of the other side of the road.

“It has been terrible for those who have had their property destroyed but it was terrifying for everyone.

“It was all the way across the fields in no time at all. It was hard to believe it was happening.”

The only way to manage the deadly – and immediate – results of flooding and heatwaves is to treat the climate emergency as we would an outbreak, not like a chronic illness, writes policy adviser Aliza Ayaz.