Prime Minister Andy Burnham has held a summit to look at how to better tackle wildfires after a summer of devastating blazes across the UK.
Mr Burnham thanked firefighters and said the response to the emergency showed the “best of Britain”, but said he had brought together fire chiefs, industry leaders, ministers and academics to take action and build resilience “for the next time”.
Speaking at the Wildfires 27 Resilience Summit, held at the National Resilience Centre of Excellence in Aintree, Liverpool, the Prime Minister said: “I’ll never forget Stourbridge on that day.
“You know, we saw homes lost in a heartbeat, that’s the only way to put it.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham meets a member of the fire services during England’s first wildfire resilience summit (Temilade Adelaja/PA)
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“The way the fire developed – devastating for those families that I’m sure they’re still recovering.
“But I just want to say again, you know, we saw in that moment the best of Britain, as always, people out there pulling together.
“It was a great response, in very challenging circumstances.
“And we thank everybody who was part of it, but also we commit to them now, to learn from it, to come back even stronger, next time, because sadly, there will be a next time.”
The Prime Minister told the summit, also attended by Communities Secretary Angela Rayner, “words are not enough” and there needs to be action.
He added: “I do believe we need to build up the resilience of the country, from the bottom up, and that does mean looking at our fire and rescue services and supporting them.”
Before speaking, Mr Burnham toured the resilience centre, which helps coordinate the fire service response to major incidents across the country.
Fire service staff spoke to him about fighting the wildfires earlier this year and showed him high-powered drones, high-volume pumps and new vehicles equipped to tackle blazes on hillsides.
A helicopter carrying water tackles the wildfire burning near Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms National Park in July (PA)
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Earlier, the Government announced new measures to tackle wildfires by equipping military planes and helicopters to tackle blazes, including the RAF’s Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft.
This will provide the first military aerial firefighting capability based permanently in the UK.
Frontline firefighters will also get lightweight, wildfire-specific personal protective equipment, which is lighter and more breathable than the current kit designed for buildings, so it can be worn for longer periods.
There are also measures to stop fires taking hold in the first place, including £25 million to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they hold more water and do not catch light, acting as natural firebreaks, with financial support for farmers to dig ponds and remove burnable materials in high-risk areas.
The summit comes after one of the most severe summers for wildfires the UK has seen amid the hottest summer on record and widespread drought which left fields, parks and landscapes tinder-dry.
In England and Wales, fire crews responded to 1,132 wildfires in the year up to August 16 – more than the total recorded in the whole of 2025 – with major blazes in places such as Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, and Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where 19 homes were destroyed.
The situation became so severe that an emergency alert was sent to people’s mobile phones across England and Wales on August 14, warning of a very high national wildfire risk.
Earlier this week, the parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee released a report warning wildfire is “part of our new reality” as climate change – mostly caused by burning fossil fuels – increases the frequency and severity.
The Government is also convening a meeting between UK and devolved governments to co-ordinate a nationwide wildfire response, after the summer which also saw major blazes in the Cairngorms, Scotland, Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains and the Rhinogydd mountains in South Wales.
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said: “The wildfires we’ve faced this year have been unrelenting, leaving a devastating impact on communities, homes and our precious countryside.
“That’s why we’re taking immediate action now while working across government and the sector to build a stronger, more resilient national response to wildfires for the future.”