Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Gov.UK Housing. Read the original article for full details.

Government Announces £97m Upgrade to Wildfire Response Ahead of Summer

The government has announced a £97 million investment to overhaul fire and rescue assets and deploy specialist wildfire teams across England. The move comes as wildfire incidents continue to grow, following widespread damage last year, including in the North York Moors National Park.

Specialist trained firefighters will be positioned in key areas and ready to respond to fires, aiming to deliver help more quickly and reduce pressure on local services. These teams have undergone intensive training in the latest wildfire strategies, including tactical burning, and have participated in international learning exchanges in South Africa and Poland.

The new state-of-the-art equipment, such as dedicated off-road vehicles, forms part of the largest upgrade of National Resilience assets in nearly twenty years. The Fire National Resilience programme, established after the 9/11 terrorist attack, provides specialist capabilities, personnel, and resources to respond to national-scale incidents, including wildfires, flash flooding, and collapsed structures.

In 2025, these specialist capabilities were used over 1,000 times to tackle a range of incidents, with wildfires identified as a growing demand on the service. The newly formed wildfire teams will be hosted by fire and rescue services in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, London, and South Wales, and will be deployable to incidents across England by the end of June.

For letting agents and inventory clerks, the strengthened wildfire response may offer increased protection for properties in at-risk areas, particularly as the summer season approaches.