Dartford fires: Crews remain at scene of blazes on Dartford Heath

Fire crews remain at the scenes of two fires in north Kent which began on Tuesday.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) said 30 engines and 150 firefighters dealt with two fires near Durrell Dene, in Joyce Green, Dartford, and Dartford Heath near the A2.

It added scaled-back crews remain at the scene of both blazes on Wednesday, to dampen hot spots and resources there will increase throughout the day.

The cause of the fires are unknown.

At its height there were 90 firefighters at the the site of the Joyce Green fire, with four square miles ablaze.

Crews said it was one of the biggest they had seen in their time in the fire service.

Lawrence Pater, incident commander at KFRS, added: "The ground is extremely dry, we've got a build up of litter, glass has probably refracted sunlight, or it could be a flash from a pylon.

"We don't think it was an accident from the public dropping cigarettes, it isn't the kind of area for that."

Firefighters were first deployed at 12:35 BST on Tuesday and used jets to tackle the fire, involving areas of undergrowth and trees.

No casualties were reported but drivers on the A2 had been warned to take extra care due to large amounts of smoke drifting across the carriageway.

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, assistant director of KFRS Matt Deadman said: "At one time we had over 150 firefighters and 30 fire engines committed to fighting those fires on the heath.

"Fortunately here in Kent we've seen limited damage to properties and we managed to stop any further spread in the Dartford Heath area.

"There isn't any imminent risk at this time of any further fire spread, this [Wednesday] is making sure the fire is fully out, the ground is properly damped down, and that it's not going to pose any further risk to life or property."

In a statement, KFRS said that smoke from the fire was now minimal and "drivers shouldn't expect to see large amounts of smoke drifting across the A2".

Mr Deadman added: "Firefighters have been working tirelessly through the most punishing conditions they've ever had to face and we've tried to make sure we've had welfare in place for them to make their job as comfortable as possible. We can't thank them enough."

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