Location: Spencers Lane, Melling
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service is in attendance at an incident on Spencers Lane, Melling.
Crews were alerted at 2.59pm and on scene seven minutes later. Six fire engines and an MFRS offroad vehicle are in attendance.
On arrival, firefighters liaised with a farmer who was using a tractor to assist in creating a fire break. Currently, crews are firefighting in the wooded area.
The incident has been sectorised and Merseyside Police has been requested to assist with traffic control.
The incident is ongoing, please avoid the area. Residents nearby should keep doors and windows closed. Anyone with existing health conditions should keep medicines close and if any ill effects are experienced, dial NHS 111 for advice.
Incident Update 13th August 2026:
The incident continued into the evening, with large areas of grass and thick canalside vegetation involved in a fire of around 500 metres by 200 metres.
Sector one had a main branch hose and an extended hose reel in use, while sector two had the MFRS off-road vehicle with two hose reel jets in use being supplied with water by a fire engine. Sector two also had the much appreciated support of a local farmer and his family who were assisting with a main branch hose and water bowser. Great efforts were being made to prevent the spread of fire to a nearby housing estate.
A High Volume Pump(HVP) was deployed pumping water from the canal to increase water volume for firefighting and the farmer assisting made good progress in making further fire breaks with the tractor.
The service drone was deployed to identify any areas of fire spread and enabled fire crews to be directed to areas which needed extinguishing. The drone was able to monitor the entire area for any flare ups.
A final sweep by the drone and the use of thermal imaging cameras enabled a full evaluation and established that the fire was completely extinguished. Crews were able to leave the scene at 9.19pm.
We would like to thank the local famer and his family who provided invaluable support and helped reduce the impact of the fire in terms of damage caused and the time taken to extinguish the fire.