At roughly 3.40pm, Folkestone Rescue was alerted by Folkestone Coastguard to a potential fire along the boardwalk. Two lifeguards accompanied by two officers from Kent Police searched the boardwalk, and located some industrial bins and rubbish which was on fire.
Kent Police attempted to extinguish the fire using a fire extinguisher, while further assistance was requested from Folkestone Rescue’s emergency response vehicle. While the fire was reduced, it was not completely extinguished.
Road access was restricted due to the large crowds gathered for the Red Arrows display, so our emergency response vehicle was forced to drive along the boardwalk to the location.
On arrival, it was decided to overturn the bins and separate the burning materials from the other rubbish to prevent the fire from spreading. A second fire extinguisher was used on the fire, which was then extinguished. It was discovered that the fire had been caused by two disposable BBQs which had been thrown into the full bins while still hot.
We advise that anyone using a disposable BBQ on the beach ensures it is disposed of responsibly once it has been completely extinguished and has cooled down.
