Teesside firefighters concerned about wildfires during hot weather
Cleveland Fire Brigade are warning people not to use disposable BBQs
There are concerns about a higher risk of wildfires across Teesside as forecasters are predicting a hotter than normal summer.
Cleveland Fire Brigade's warning people to not use disposable barbeques or light up and throw away cigarettes in parks, the open countryside, woodlands and moorlands.
They're also urging people not to swim in open water due to cold water shock and other potential hidden dangers.
Jim Hudson, Assistant Director of Operations and Planning at Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: "It only takes one small ignition source in a dry condition for the fire to spread really, really quickly. What starts as something small can seriously become a really serious fire within minutes.
"Whenever we get prolonged hot or dry weather, we tend to see an increase in incidents outdoors and outdoor fires really. That can include things like grass fires, woodlands, moorland fires, rubbish fires, and fires that are linked to barbecues, campfires, or discarded cigarettes.
"People naturally, they want to get in water to cool down, but we do see people getting into difficulty in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or at the coast. We're seeing the hottest temperatures in quite some time, but water takes a long time to heat up, so when you're red hot and you jump in that water, it's often a lot colder than you think and your body can go into shock.
"We always advocate having a taking a picnic rather than a BBQ. If you're having that picnic, please take your rubbish home with you, especially glass bottles, because the chance of, you know, the sun reflecting or refracting through a glass bottle, that can start a moorland fire or an open fire really, really easily.
"It can cause burns, damage public spaces, it can create risks to other people who are using the area by a lot of devastation to the land. We've got areas that the public can no longer use and then there's often a host of wildlife that's affected and it does take a while for that vegetation to grow back so there's an ongoing effect to these fires.
"These often happen over a wide area and they can take a lot of firefighters, fire engines, you need specialist equipment, and you've still got to wear the protective equipment. It's really hot, so we have the heat stress element of it for firefighters in this hot weather.
"They often have to work for prolonged periods of time because the fire will get into the actual moorland, into the grass, and it can often go down into the ground and it makes pockets that then spread up and pop out elsewhere. So it's really challenging conditions. It's really hot, heavy, dirty work."
You can find more advice on the Cleveland Fire Brigade website.