Kevin said Sark Fire crews faced the largest fire he had ever seen in Sark after a gorse blaze broke out on Little Sark on Friday morning. The fire was declared a major incident after more than four hours of work to bring it under control.
Kevin on Little Sark
The fire covered about 20,000 sq m of cliff land and stayed restricted to that ground, with no properties affected. Kevin said crews managed to keep it away from two houses.
Guernsey response
Guernsey Ambulance & Rescue sent the Flying Christine III to Sark with a medical crew and incident officer on board, and additional firefighters were deployed on the same service. Guernsey Harbours' workboat Sarnia was also on scene, and The Guernsey Coastguard drone unit was deployed.
Five firefighters from Guernsey were injured shortly after arriving in Sark while travelling to assist at the scene. They were assessed by a doctor and first responders as having non-life threatening injuries, then transferred to Guernsey's emergency department via the marine ambulance for further treatment.
Smoke over Guernsey
Kevin said a massive plume of white smoke could be seen coming from the island, and smoke from the blaze was visible on the east coast of Guernsey. Public Health advised people affected by smoke to stay indoors, while firefighters were to remain overnight to dampen down the scene.
The fire was not expected to spread because the wind was blowing out to sea, yet it still prompted a major incident response and left five firefighters injured. What caused the fire on Little Sark was not stated in the information released.
