Firefighters tackle grass fire in Mitcham, London

Firefighters tackle grass fire in Mitcham, London

18 July 2013

published by www.telegraph.co.uk

UK — Firefighters fought a grass fire which burnt through the equivalent of four football pitches in Mitcham, south London, following warnings that the heatwave made such blazes more likely.

Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters were called out to Mitcham Common at midday.

It took them until 1pm to bring the flames spreading across four hectares of grass and gorse under control.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) says it has dealt with twice as many grass fires in this summer’s heatwave compared with last year.

Dave Brown, LFB’s head of operations, said: “A small spark from a cigarette is often all it takes to start a grass fire in these dry conditions.