Bamford & Norden April 2019

Heywood Tanks Waged
War on the Winter Hill Blaze
The West Pennines Area of the Military Vehicle
Trust (MVT) is proud to have an association with
Heywood Tanks, a group of enthusiasts who not
only have some interesting military machines,
but also have ideals that include helping others
where they can. Steve Garrett, a mechanic in
the Army who volunteers with Heywood Tanks,
describes the organisation as having a “Moral
Compass”. Dale Haigh, the inspiration behind
Heywood Tanks, simply shrugs his shoulders
and says, “You know when something needs
doing and when it’s right to help - We just get
on with it.”
Cast your mind back to the evening of 24th
June when fire crews tackled a fire on the
Saddleworth moors. The next day the fire
reignited and rapidly escalated, Greater
Manchester Police declared it a major incident
and evacuated a number of residents from
their homes. Support was drafted in from fire
and rescue services across the UK, helicopters
were deployed as were soldiers from the Royal
Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS).
Thursday 28th June, the same day 4 SCOTS
were deployed on Saddleworth Moor, a fire
broke out on Winter Hill and fire crews from
Greater Manchester joined Lancashire Fire and
Rescue Service to fight the fire. The incident
escalated and was declared a major incident
by police on Saturday 30th June.
Needless to say, the fire service was stretched
in many directions! Heywood Tanks wanted to
offer their help, but how do you contact the fire
service without ringing 999?
Steve Garrett said, “We decided to offer our
help after seeing the fire-fighters on the NEWS,
crossing the moors with 20 litre knapsacks and
pumps. We have a metal box on tracks, capable
of carrying 2,000 litres of water and getting
pretty much anywhere on the moors, and after
much investigation, we were finally able to
contact Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to
offer our help.”
At this stage the fire had been blazing for
around two weeks, leaving the ground
smouldering and burnt. The group sent a
Shielder, which was then equipped to carry
2,000 litres of water and pumps, to help with
the operations.
Steve continues, “We went up on Friday 6th July
and were there until Wednesday 11th July.
The fire crews really appreciated it, and I
enjoyed helping them out. The fire service was
absolutely fabulous, they looked after us and
were really enthusiastic about the Shielder,
which they fuelled up and agreed to cover the
cost if there was any damage. Everyone was
keen to get on board to get the job done.”
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