South Wales Fire and Rescue Service chief Fin Monahan praised soldiers from the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment for their support in tackling wildfires in south Wales. Approximately 200 military personnel, along with crews from seven other fire services and Army helicopters, have been involved in firefighting efforts. The region is experiencing severe pressure due to dozens of fires, but the military assistance has allowed firefighters to focus on more specialized tasks. Monahan commended the soldiers for their logistical support, including water distribution and digging trenches to create fire breaks.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
About 200 members of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, along with support from other military units including 22 Royal Engineers, Royal Logistics Corp, and Army helicopters, have been assisting fire crews in south Wales as they battle dozens of wildfires across the country. The soldiers are providing logistical support, such as distributing water, which has allowed firefighters to focus on their specialized skills. Chief Fire Officer Fin Monahan praised the military's assistance, saying it was a "very serious step" taken by both the UK and Welsh governments. Monahan credited the soldiers with doing an "utterly phenomenal job", particularly in digging trenches and building fire breaks. The efforts have been welcomed as firefighters from other services, including London and Cumbria, also provide support to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service under severe pressure.
Written for “Wildfire Relief Efforts” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 842 · logged 2026-08-26
- Published
A chief fire officer has praised soldiers for supporting crews tackling wildfires in south Wales.
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officer → publish → Wales
Fin Monahan said South Wales Fire and Rescue Service was under severe pressure and very grateful to seven other fire services and the military for help.
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Service → say → help
About 200 members of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, with support from 22 Royal Engineers, Royal Logistics Corp and Army helicopters have been been involved.
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members → involve → Engineers
Crews from London, Cumbria and elsewhere have also been providing support.
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Crews → provide → support
Monahan told the BBC the UK and Welsh governments took "a very serious step" in bringing in the military but the "extra capacity" was needed as crews fought dozens of fires across the country.
He said his firefighters have "very specialist skills" to tackle wildfires with military assistance enabling him to "focus all of that in the right place".
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firefighters → tell → place
Soldiers have been providing logistical support, including water distribution, to assist firefighters and specialist responders.
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Soldiers → provide → firefighters
Monahan described the soldiers as "doing an utterly phenomenal job digging trenches and also helping us build fire breaks".
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us → describe → breaks
"That has liberated lots of our firefighters to go and do their more specialist skills of firefighting."
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That → liberate → firefighting
In south Wales, about 14 separate fires were being tackled by crews on Sunday.
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fires → tackle → Sunday
Mid and West Wales Fire Rescue and Service said crews were dealing with blazes at Rhandirmwyn and Ammanford in Carmarthenshire and Hay-on-Wye and Brecon in Powys on Sunday.
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crews → say → Sunday
They have also attended fires in Gorseinon, Swansea, and Tenby, Pembrokeshire, as well as an incident involving smoke in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
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They → attend → Llanelli
Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, said a fire in Treherbert, Rhondda Cynon Taf, had been "appalling" and he thanked crews from London who had provided assistance.
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who → say → assistance
"Thankfully, there are fire engines from all over the UK and two helicopters have been in place all afternoon.
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helicopters → be → place
But this can't be our new normal," he said, in a post on X, external on Saturday.
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he → say → Saturday
Monahan praised the Royal Logistics Corps and Royal Engineers in ensuring crews had water to tackle the fires.
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crews → praise → fires
"The Welsh water system is under pressure, so they're moving vast quantities of water from areas that we have it into areas where we're fighting the fire, so that we don't put too much pressure on the water system," he said.
"
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he → move → system
He also said the national emergency fire alert issued by the UK government to people's mobile phones in England and Wales on Friday was "absolutely necessary".
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alert → say → Friday
But he expressed disappointment that some people still did not appreciate the dangers.
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people → express → dangers
"Even after that transmission, I stopped and found someone who was burning tyres underneath a tree.
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who → stop → tree
"This is irresponsible behaviour," he said.
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he → say → ?
