CUMBRIA Fire and Rescue Service has seen an increase in fires of more than 48 per cent in 2025 compared to last year, driven largely by a period of hot weather.
The fire and rescue service held its latest Public Accountability Panel at headquarters in Penrith on Wednesday.
Panel meetings are open to the public and are an opportunity for the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner to hold the service to account on performance.
And in a report on the fire service's performance in the second quarter of 2025, the panel heard that fires in Cumbria have increased by 48.4 per cent compared to last year.
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March 2025 brought 122 fires, rising to 238 in April and 202 in May. The same period last year brought 101 fires in April, 107 in May and 92 in June.
Area Manager and Head of Operational Preparedness, Dave Love said: "You'll see the significant spike in April and May, a lot of that was down to the number of wildfires we had."
He added that during the period of dry weather, "there was an awful lot of activity done through the comms team to share that key safety information, advice and guidance.
"A lot of work was done to get the message out there about the dangers of wildfires and what members of the public can do to address that."
Mr Love said: "Through the prevention team, we've tried to be more structured in how we deliver our prevention activities.
"We know that different areas within the county have different priorities when it comes to prevention."
Each team is now assigned specific wards in their communities where they are asked to deliver sessions educating the public about fire prevention.
Mr Love said: "The theory being, if they're there on the ground, they're developing relationships with schools, with partners, with residents, they then get that more comprehensive understanding of prevention needs in that area. So that's now being rolled-out across the service."
The service is also delivering a Building Resilience programme for high school students, funded by the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner's Office.
Funding has also been secured to deliver three new fire cadet groups in Cumbria.
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