Approximately 100 soldiers from 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, and an RAF Chinook helicopter have been deployed to support the Great Manchester Fire & Rescue Service operation responding to the Saddleworth Moor fires…
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “I pay tribute to our Armed Forces’ professionalism, dedication and sense of duty. They are proving once again that Britain can always depend on our troops to protect us no matter the time, no matter the place, and no matter the problem.”
The troops will deploy overnight from their barracks in Catterick. Operating out of a nearby Army Training Centre, they will assist the effort to control and reduce the fire, undertaking tasks such as the management of water lines, fire beating and providing general support where required.
The RAF Chinook, flying out of RAF Odiham, will airlift heavy equipment such as High Volume Pump Units to areas that are difficult to access due to the terrain.
