Exmouth Town Council discussed what would happen to the town if a wildfire broke out, during its latest town council meeting.

The motion was bought forward by Councillor Tim Dumper to discuss contingency plans should a wildfire or a major incident involving fire occur in the town during the current hot weather.

The Rising Threat of Fire and Heatwaves – motion proposed by Councillor Tim Dumper.

"The motion put by Mr Dumper was: "we request that action is taken by Exmouth Town Council in the following ways:

"1 That a review be undertaken of our Community Resilience Plan (where necessary in conjunction with other local Emergency Planners) to ensure it takes full account of likely issues in case of a fire emergency or for exceptional heatwaves.

"2 That consideration be given to developing a booklet for general public distribution, publicising fire prevention and what to do in fires and heatwaves."

Exmouth Town Council, alongside East Devon District Council (EDDC), announced a climate emergency three years ago and over the past few weeks we have seen extreme heat weather in Devon.

There are contingency plans in place if any major incident happens in the town, flooding, a major incident at sea, a major fire, or a road traffic collision. Cllr Dumper wanted to review this plan to include the hot weather.

The local contingency plan gives instructions to councils, local residents and the emergency services if any major incident occurs in Exmouth. The idea was rejected by councillors, and in the usual fiery debate, it was decided that Cllr Dumper should re-word his motion, as it ‘showed a lack of empathy for our hard-working emergency services.’

Councillors debated that the motion was worded to make it sound like the emergency services wouldn’t be capable of dealing with a major fire incident.

Councillor Tim Dumper, chair of Exmouth Town Council’s climate and ecological emergency working party told the Journal: “I suggested a number of actions we could take, involving asking Devon County Council and the Fire and Rescue Service management whether they were ready for the type of conditions prevailing this summer, with not only heathland going up in flames, but small communities being burnt down.

“Imagine my shock when I found the motion being defeated in council, only supported by the town's Liberal Democrat councillors, and opposed by the Conservatives and others on the council.

“We all know the dangers to which firefighters and other emergency service personnel expose themselves, and are very grateful for their bravery and service.

"Quite by coincidence, the Fire Brigades Union nationally has questioned the national level of preparedness for these weather conditions."

The motion was rejected by councillors, 10 voted against, 8 were in favour and one abstained.