Appeal over fires in the open following call to 'burning smell' in Sutton

It comes after crews from the town’s Ashfield Fire Station were called to a "fire in the open” on land off Quarrydale Road, Sutton.

A station spokesman said: “Please do not make ‘campfires’ in the woodlands and fields.

“Our firefighters carried water backpacks over fields to search for the fire, but returned with a smile on their face.

“These fires can take a long time to locate and the incident commander would be unable to leave the incident until they are confident the fire is extinguished or there wasn’t one to be found – this ties up the appliance, making it unavailable for a potentially more serious incident.

“Please do not make fires, they can spread and cause serious damage to property and the environment.”

In this case, it emerged crews had been called to a smell of burning on July 13, at 4.40pm, but found the cause to be innocent.

A Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue spokesman said: “This was not a fire, but rather people with a disposable barbecue – someone had called in smelling burning.

“Firefighters offered advice and asked the group to dispose of the barbecue properly after use.”