Blazing moors drama

Crompton Moor fire May 2017 GMFire

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THIS was the dramatic scene on Crompton Moor which led to a major mobilisation of firefighters and included leading a teenager out from a smoke-filled forest.

Emergency crews from across Oldham tackled the moorland blaze on Friday afternoon, which was blown by strong easterly winds over the summits from Rochdale Road at Denshaw towards Buckstone Road near Shaw.

The blaze potentially threatened telecoms masts and power pylons, and a teenage boy had to be led by fire-fighters from a smoke-filled forest. He was sent to hospital for checks after breathing in smoke.

Twenty fire engines and another ten units were used to tackle the fire, said Gaz Park, a watch manager at Oldham Fire Station. They arrived at Rochdale Road at 4.30pm on Friday afternoon

He said: "When we first arrived we were concerned about the safety of three telecoms masts. The fire affected an outbuilding but we managed to get at it before it got near the telecoms masts.

"However, because of high winds the fire spread pretty quickly over a large area. We had quite a lot of resources there with fire fighters, fire engines and wildfire units.

"Then half-way through the incident it was reported that a 16-year-old was trapped in a forest with low visibility because of the smoke. But we managed to rescue him and he was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital for breathing in smoke."

He added: "It was a complicated incident over a large area, probably measuring around one square mile. It was physically-hard work but thankfully the teenager and the telecoms masts were saved. However, it caused a lot of damage to the heather moorland."

The boy's name was not given and he was not thought to be seriously injured.

Watch manager Gaz Park added: "We'd like to remind people to great take care when out on the moors. They should not to use naked flames, camp fires or barbecues, and be very careful with cigarettes. There is an increase in moorland fires and in some parts the use of naked flames is against the law. If people see others using fires or naked flames, they should call the police."

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service issued statements to reassure residents through the fire. People were asked to avoid the area, and keep windows and doors shut to keep any smoke out. Fire crews remained at Crompton Moor until 10pm on Friday.