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FIRE: A helicopter was used to help put out the moorland fires two years ago
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Bright sparks halt moor blaze
14/ 5/2008
A MAJOR fire was averted on the moors thanks to a group which was set up to protect moorland around Glossop.
FOG — or the Fire Operations Group — brings together six fire authorities, three water companies, private landowners, the National Trust and the Peak District National Park.
It was set up following a blaze on Bleaklow in 1997 with the idea that the combined expertise and better communication would improve responses to moorland fires.
Fiona Draisey, a ranger with the Peak National Park Authority, says the system showed its worth on Sunday when a fire broke out near Doctor’s Gate.
Firefighters were called at 8pm and spent two hours putting out the blaze which covered a square kilometre of the moors.
"Without question it has made things much better," she said. "The reason FOG was set up in the first place was because the moors are a massive area and the fire brigade didn’t always know where to meet. Now someone is waiting for them to take them out to the nearest water or helicopter point. "Because we all have each other’s mobile numbers and everyone knows who to phone, we can get to and deal with fires so much quicker than before."
While firefighters managed to beat the blaze, nearby Stalybridge was not so lucky. An arson attack, also on Sunday, destroyed a square mile of moorland above Swineshore Reservoir, killing dozens of nesting birds and wildlife.
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