Fire service angered over North Yorkshire reservoir incident

Firefighters from Ripon and Masham's retained crews were called to Roundhill Reservoir on Saturday (January 6) at around 8.45pm, following reports of a fire in a property. 

After arriving on the scene, it was discovered that the incident involved a campfire set by wild campers on the edge of the reservoir. 

The image that the fire station issued - showing the area they climbed through to get to the incident (Image: MASHAM FIRE STATION)

While the call to the incident was responded to, Masham Fire Station has now bemoaned using two of its resources to respond to the incident, which saw the destination unreachable by road. 

Instead, firefighters had to climb through the dark woodland nearby with just torches to reach the incident; something that took around three hours to deal with.  

Following the incident, the North Yorkshire fire station has now issued a statement, warning people to be more courteous when it comes to fire safety. 

In the statement, Masham Fire Station said: "The crews were unable to reach this destination by road so the crews had to walk over unknown ground from Roundhill reservoir in the pitch dark using only torches.

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"This not only put them in danger walking this area in the dark but was an unnecessary waste of resources which may have been required for another more serious incident elsewhere.

"This incident tied up both crews for up to three hours.

The statement added: "Although it was only a campfire it could have been more serious. Please think about the consequences of your actions before wild camping in rural areas."