13/08/2026
Another busy week for the crew at Bovey Tracey which has seen both appliances mobilised to numerous incidents.
Our 4x4 Ranger and All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) has attended several grass fires in the Exeter and Bridgewater areas. Our crew were involved in firefighting operations in hard to access areas.
Tuesday saw our busiest period due to the major incident declared in Exeter. Bovey Tracey were called to an unrelated fire in the open on the M5 which turned out to be a controlled burn. As we made our way home, we were mobilised to a building fire in Tedburn St Mary alongside colleagues from Chagford Fire Station. Although the fire was out on our arrival, the crews in attendance remained on scene to ensure there was no undetected fire spread within the building. Crews used a hose reel jet, a thermal imaging camera and small tools to confirm the area was safe.
Once again, we started our journey home but were proceeded on to Totnes Fire Station for standby duties due to the ongoing fire in the open in Exeter, coupled with other incidents in the county.
While at Totnes, we were turned out to the incident in Exeter as part of a 9 pump relief. Our crew remained on the scene into the night, ensuring there were no further flare ups and maintaining a watching brief over one of the fields involved in the earlier fire. Our crew used hose reel jets and water buckets to dampen down the remaining hot spots.
The UK is currently bracing for another heatwave and parts of Devon are expected to see temperatures over 30 degrees over the next few days. Remember that discarded ci******es, disposable barbecues and glass are some of the leading causes of grass fires that we are seeing an increasingly amount of. Please continue to be vigilant and help reduce the risk to our communities, firefighters and environment.
