Northumberland County Council - England & Wales Wildfire Forum

The forum is a voluntary strategic body, independent of government, created to expand knowledge and understand of wildfire, with the overall purpose of reducing the harmful impact of wildfires by promoting joint working and collaboration.

Governance of the EWWF

The EWWF is currently managed by a chair, vice-chair and secretariat:

EWWF chair: Simon Thorp, director at the Heather Trust
EWWF vice-chair: Dewi Rose, assistant chief fire officer at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
EWWF secretary: Robert Stacey, wildfire project officer at Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.

The EWWF is governed according to the following key principles:

Legal status:
The forum will hold no legal status. Members agree to work together to deliver the forum’s aims and address wildfire issues.

Chair:
The forum will be chaired by a senior officer of a member organisation. The role of chairperson shall be reviewed annually.

Vice chair:
The vice chairperson of the forum, shall be a senior officer of a member organisation and shall deputise for the chair as required. The role of vice chairperson shall be reviewed annually.

Membership:
Member organisations shall nominate a standing representative but may if necessary send a replacement representative to forum meetings. New members, either by invitation or on application, shall be admitted at the discretion of the existing forum members. Additional representatives from member organisations shall be co-opted at the discretion of the forum members.

Meetings:
Forum meetings will be held at least annually, as agreed with members. Additional meetings to address specific matters may be held when necessary. An invitation to attend to discuss specific items of business may be extended to other organisations and individuals. Forum members will host meetings of the forum as appropriate.

Work groups:
Work groups will be established to undertake tasks of a specific nature as identified by the forum. Membership of work groups will comprise of representatives with expertise or interest in the identified task(s) who shall nominate a group leader. Work groups will report back to the wider forum membership.

Administration:
The administration function associated with the work of the forum will be undertaken by the chairperson (and/or vice chairman) and an appointed secretariat.

Budget:
Membership of the forum is on a voluntary basis, but member organisations are asked to make a small annual contribution to the running costs of the forum. Any additional funding requirements identified will be progressed through partnership arrangements amongst forum members and other bodies as appropriate.

Voting:
Every effort will be made to reach decisions by consensus but where a vote is required, the quorum will be six. Each forum member organisation will have one vote and decisions will be taken on the basis of a simple majority.

For the avoidance of doubt, decisions taken by the forum will not be binding upon forum members, albeit members will be expected to support the forum’s deliberations in accordance with their commitment. Where it is necessary to take a vote inbetween meetings, a vote can be taken by electronic means.

Reporting:
The forum will produce reports for public circulation as appropriate, related to progress matters relevant to its remit.

Relationship with other groups:
The forum will establish and maintain close working links with the CFOA Wildfire Group and the Scottish Wildfire Forum. In addition, the forum will promote new and existing relationships with other groups and forums operating in the wildfire arena.

Recognition:
The forum members agree that in conducting the forum and in publicising its work, full recognition will be given to the support of each member.

Withdrawal from the forum:
Any member will be entitled to withdraw from the forum after giving written notice to the chairperson (or vice chairperson).

Review:
The forum will review progress on delivery of its aims and objectives on a regular basis.

EWWF membership

Members of the EWWF represent a number of key groups and organisations.

Grouping	Organisation
Governmental	Home Office (Lead government department for wildfire) Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Welsh Assembly Government
Representative organisations	Country Land & Business Association (CLA) Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Heather Trust Moorland Association Scottish Wildfire Forum
Fire & rescue service	National Fire Chief's Council (NFCC) Wildfire Group Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation (DFRMO) Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
Government agencies	Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation (DFRMO) Forestry Commission England Met Office Natural England Natural Resources Wales Network Rail
National parks and local authorities	English National Park Authorities Dorset County Council Local Government Association (LGA) Peak District National Park Authority
Charity organisations	Woodland Trust (pending)
Research institutions	Manchester University
Special interest groups	Lancashire Fire Operations Group (FOG) Northumberland Fire Group (NFG) Peak District Fire Operations Group (FOG) South East England Wildfire Group (SEEWG) Urban Heaths Partnership

If you would like to join the EWWF, then please contact us.

The forum holds meetings at least two times per year to discuss wildfire issues of national importance. All members are invited to attend, provide briefings and contribute agenda items for discussion.

The forum also invites non-members to attend meetings to deliver presentations and participate in specific discussions. If you would like to attend a future meeting of the EWWF, please contact us.

The next meeting of the EWWF will take place during the first half of 2019. Further information will follow soon.

Archive of EWWF meeting agendas, briefings and minutes

Meeting agendas

The EWWF is involved in a number of ongoing activities and projects related to wildfire prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Below you can see copies of reports that summarise some of the key activities and projects involving the EWWF and its members.

Report on EWWF activities - January to March 2017

You can also find out further information about current and ongoing EWWF activities from the newsletters section of this webpage.

The EWWF will produce a number of newsletters each year to help inform the UK wildfire community about key wildfire activities and events. We hope that colleagues around the UK, and from further afield, will be willing and able to share information about events and projects which can be included in future newsletters.

Click here to read the March 2018 newsletter from the EWWF.

The newsletter provides information about a number of wildfire-related issues, including:

Report on the Joint Wildfire Forum Meeting held in November 2017
Report on the highly successful UK Wildfires 2017 Conference in Bournemouth
Feedback request for a new Wildfire Reporting Tool
Information about two Wildfire Webinars being organised by Moors for the Future in April and May 2018
Reports on recent wildfire incidents, exercises and workshops and information about forthcoming events and exercises.
EWWF meetings in 2018
Contact details for the EWWF

Please contact us if you have any queries about the newsletter or if you would like to provide information for inclusion within a future EWWF newsletter.

Archive of EWWF newsletters

This section provides copies of newsletters previously published and circulated by the EWWF.

The EWWF has collected a number of case studies of wildfire incidents and good practice. These case studies are provided below as a source of information and inspiration.

Case Studies from Northumberland:

Case Study from South Wales:

Case Study from Dorset:

Urban Heaths Partnership

Case Study from South East England:

Marlow Wildfire - July 2018

Case Study from Staffordshire:

Dimmingsdale Wildfire - July 2018

The EWWF maintains close links with a number of other key wildfire stakeholder groups and projects around the UK, including:

National Fire Chief's Council (NFCC) wildfire group
Knowledge for Wildfire project (KfWf)
Scottish Wildfire Forum
Northern Ireland Wildfire Stakeholders Forum

The EWWF also maintains close links with international partners, including colleagues in the Republic of Ireland, the Pau Costa Foundation (Spain) and the Netherlands National Wildfire Project.

To facilitate and drive national activities related to wildfires, the EWWF liaises closely with regional and local wildfire groups. The key purpose of maintaining these links is to look for and promote cooperation, collaboration and synergy on wildfire issues across England and Wales.

There are at least 17 local/regional groups in England and Wales that are currently addressing wildfire issues, including:

Northumberland Fire Group
Peak District Fire Operations Group
Urban Heaths Partnership
Cumbria Fire Group
Brecon Beacons National Park
Commons Vision/Gower Wildfire Group
Durham and Darlington Wildfire Group
Forgotten Landscapes Partnership - Blaenavon, Wales
Home Counties Wildfire Group
Lancashire Fire Operations Group
North Yorkshire Wildfire Group
North York Moors Fire Liaison Group
Pembrokeshire Wildfire Group
Pennine Wildfire Working Group
Sky Lantern and Balloon Releases in Dorset Working Group
South East of England Wildfire Group
South Pennines Fire Operations Group
Valleys Land Management Partnership

The EWWF can provide advice and support to existing local wildfire groups. Please contact us and let us know what you need and we will try to help.

Help and support for creating new local wildfire groups
Local wildfire groups perform a key role in bringing together a variety of stakeholders to address wildfire risk and issues at local level. The EWWF can provide help, advice and support for anyone looking to create a new local wildfire group. Please contact us and let us know what you need and we will try to help.

The forum helps to organise and support wildfire events. Further details about recent events supported by the forum are shown below.

Wildfires 2017 Conference - 7th and 8th November 2017
The EWWF supported the highly successful UK Wildfires Conference 2017. The event was held on 7^th and 8^th November 2017 at the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth and focused on the theme of Wildfire Resilience in a UK Context.

Further information about the event can be found on the conference website. If you have any queries about the event please contact us.

Wildfires 2015 Conference - 10th and 11th November 2015
The EWWF supported the Wildfire 2015 Conference, an extremely successful event co-hosted by the Scottish Wildfire Forum and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The conference took place at the fire service’s training centre at Cambuslang, Glasgow, on 10-11 November 2015, bringing together wildlife practitioners and stakeholders from across the UK and from overseas.

Click here to view copies of the presentations delivered at the conference

Wildfire Research and its Impact on Policy, Planning and Operations: the Swinley Forest Fire - 10th April 2015
The EWWF supported a one day seminar held at the University of Greenwich, London which was organised by the University of Greenwich, Bracknell Forest Council, the Knowledge for Wildfire Project, University of Manchester, Forestry Commission England, the Fire Efficient Project and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. The event presented examples of wildfire research projects that have been completed since the Swinley Forest Fire in 2011. The event also facilitated discussions between a range of stakeholders on how research can and should impact wildfire policy, planning and operations in the UK.

Click here for further information about the event.
Click here to view copies of presentations delivered at this event.

If you would like any further information and/or would like to join the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF), please contact:

Robert Stacey, secretary of the England and Wales Wildfire Forum

Telephone: 01670 621167
Email: robert.stacey@northumberland.gov.uk

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England & Wales Wildfire Forum

Page Contents:

England & Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF)

Governance of the EWWF

EWWF membership

EWWF meetings

Archive of EWWF meeting agendas, briefings and minutes

EWWF activity reports

EWWF newsletters

Archive of EWWF newsletters

Case studies

Links with other wildfire stakeholder groups

Wildfire events and conferences

Wildfire forum - contact us

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