Fire Safety

Slightly Anxious about approaching flames

Wildfire safety for UK homes: fire extinguishers, protective kit, a clear evacuation plan and knowing when it is time to go.

By Slightly Anxious

1st July 2026 11 minute read

IN SHORT

With the right kit, an evacuation route planned, a car ready and as little combustible material around your home as possible, you will be in the best position to get away from any flames and reach safety.

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The most dangerous emergency events in the UK are normally to do with flooding, in terms of numbers effected and injuries sustained. Then there was Covid-19 and that rapidly took the title by a very long way. Coming up fast and due to be one of the top finishers in the future is fire and more specifically wild fires. According to a May 2026 BBC interview with the London Fire Commissioner, the number of wildfires is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Given that the number of dwelling fires have been fairly stable since 2020/21, wild fires are the growing emergency risk.

Climate change is an obvious factor in both increasing flood and wildfire events. To what extent is impossible to be certain about but what we can surmise is that if the amount of energy stored in the British climate increases, we will see more and more floods and more and more wildfires in the future. As you will have read in our article ‘Slightly Anxious about rising water levels’, we think that flooding is the most serious emergency event you could possibly have to suffer (in today’s geopolitical conditions). Such is the speed of it happening, the damage it causes, the risk to life and limb it poses and the need to evacuate, it is arguably far more serious than the majority of crises we help people to prepare for at Slightly Anxious. We think wild fires have the potential to come a very close second as they share all the same features, they just haven’t been that prevalent. It does look like that it is changing and so we strongly recommend that our members read on and become ‘wildfire’ aware.

How at risk are you?

The first thing you need to assess is your level of risk of a wildfire. In the UK, this will mean do you live in an area that could be described as: moorland, heathland, forestry, rural grassland, coastal scrubland or wildland-urban interface zone which is where housing meets unmanaged vegetation? Or do you live near these areas which are prone to fire: adjacent to motorways, suburban grassland, railway embankments or urban fringes? As a quick rule of thumb, if you can see a lot of greenery out of your kitchen window then you might want to investigate further.

A wildfire is vegetation that has been set alight either maliciously (the main cause), by accident (the next main cause) or due to an act of nature and because of a spell of hot weather, the vegetation is dry enough to catch fire. It will then spread quickly driven by the wind. It is this speed of spreading that is the main issue as the fire can, if wind assisted, outrun a person and engulf whole communities. Each bit of burning material becoming the spark that ignites the next and so a cigarette mischievously thrown away miles away, can set off a fire that rapidly races towards your property and, if you haven’t prepared properly, all the vegetation and combustible material that surrounds your building will be ignited and eventually consume it.

This is why, as with flooding, our strongest possible advice is to evacuate as quickly as possible. Also the same with flooding, the biggest cause of injury and fatality due to wildfires is because people underestimated how quickly the flames would spread and/or thought they could protect their property from the flames, both of which delayed their evacuation and it was too late. As with flooding, wildfires will turn the area around your homes into potential ‘kill-zones’ if you don’t leave quickly enough. We cannot stress it sufficiently enough, you must evacuate as quickly as possible.

Is your home a wildfire risk?

Dry hedges against walls
Conifer trees near buildings
Overgrown gardens and long dry grass
Ivy climbing walls

Make your home harder to burn

What you need to do is make your chances of getting out quickly as high as possible and that is done by having the right kit ready and having prepared your environment.

What surrounds your property determines how quickly it will ignite and how possible it will be for you to leave. Wildfires depend on combustible material to burn and so you have to minimise this around your property. This involves having a very good clean up, so it may be something you were planning to do anyway.

You need to:

Ensure that you remove/thoroughly strip back the following if close to your property:

Dry hedges against walls
Conifer trees near buildings
Overgrown gardens
Ivy climbing walls
Long dry grass
Bamboo thickets
Heather or gorse nearby

Wooden fences are one of the biggest routes for wildfires to reach your property as they can extend from the perimeter to close by your building. If they have vegetation on them this will only speed things up and before you know it your roof is on fire. At a very minimum make sure your wooden fence doesn’t get close to your dwelling, if possible replace it with a non-combustible alternative like metal or even a brick wall. Have gravel or stone between the fence and your building.

The next major risk comes from your roof and the guttering around it. Remember fire doesn’t need to be directly touching combustible material to ignite things, the heat it radiates will do it, as will burning embers that can carry long distances and then ignite things where they land. So all combustible material from rooves and guttering needs removing. You also need to consider what your roof is actually made of. Older rooves are more at risk as these tend to be made of ignitable material like timber shingles, weathered felt roofing and having exposed timber beams. What a lot of people also forget is that even if their roof is clear of combustible material, it may still have vents and gaps that could allow a stray ember in and cause a fire from the flammable insulation material often found within.

Another often overlooked fire risk is that of any outbuildings, garages and sheds. These tend to have older and cheaper roofing and therefore more flammable, like timber shingles or felt roofing. In our experience, these buildings also attract vegetation. In essence they are a potential timber box and not only will they serve as a jumping off point for a wildfire to ignite your property but they may also contain important equipment necessary for your survival such as your car, your water supply and your emergency kit, which you need.

OUR PICK

Nufasion FFP2 masks (20 pack)

c.£13-£17. Protect against smoke while you get away.

View on Amazon

Your to do list is:

1. Clear vegetation from the roof, around the house, outbuildings and fences

2. Clear all debris from the gutters

3. Make a gravel strip around the house

4. Consider metal fences and non-combustible roof tiles

5. Fit ember-resistant roof vents and seal gaps in the roof

6. Plan two evacuation routes and mark any hazards on a map

7. Pack the wildfire kit alongside your Grab Bags

This makes your property more fire resistant and vitally gives you more time to evacuate. As we stated at the beginning, the biggest risk from a wildfire is not leaving your property quick enough. You will never have the amount of money to install the necessary equipment or have the expertise necessary to fight a wild fire and defend your property. That is why it’s the fire brigade (who do have equipment and expertise) who say you need to evacuate as quickly as possible. And the first thing you need to ask, is where are you evacuating to and how?

As you will have read in our other articles, found on our website, you need an emergency plan and that should include an evacuation plan. You need to decide where you are going to evacuate to and what routes you can take. We use the term routes as you have to have more than one option as you may find the chosen one is on fire! Have alternative routes and have paper printed maps. When there is a wildfire there is a good chance that cables get burnt through and you won’t have any Wi-Fi for Google Maps. As a member of Slightly Anxious, we will help provide you with a laminated emergency plans that include local maps.

Plan your escape route

The next task is to inspect your evacuation route from your front door to your car and then out onto your different options to evacuate to. What you’re looking for are any obstacles that could hinder a quick departure and more importantly, any vegetation that if ignited could block your exit. If you find any, get them cleared. If its an issue with neighbours’ s property, explain the issue and we’re certain they will see the value in keeping their own evacuation routes clear too.

The chances are that if you live in a place liable to wildfire, you will have a car as most rural residents do. Make sure that your vehicle has always got at least a half tank of petrol in it and that it works! Do read our article on using cars in an emergency found here. You don’t want to be stranded so have a functioning vehicle. Then you need to think are your driveways wide enough for you to get out of quickly (no 16 point turns!). Can emergency vehicles enter if they need to? Are there any gates involved and do they work? Are there any parts of your escape route that involve areas of risk that require warning road signs, these may not be visible in smoke, so you need to highlight them, on your map.

If you intend to walk or bicycle then this really is the last resort and very dangerous. Find an alternative but if you can’t; move to already-burned ground, seek large clearings, avoid uphill escape routes if flames are advancing uphill and avoid canyons/gullies because of the chimney effect (be warned if you Google). But please don’t walk – get a car!

What is most important is not only that evacuate in time, that you have planned your evacuation route, that your evacuation vehicle is ready, but that you have the right equipment with you.

You’re next tasks are to read our articles:

And if you have pets:

Looking after your pets in an emergency

Reading all of them will give you the best understanding of the tasks ahead.

What to pack

These articles will provide you with a shopping list of all the thing that you need to do and buy to have the best chance of surviving an emergency. We would add the following equipment that we think you need if you’re at risk of a wildfire:

A hard hat, with wildfires comes falling debris and burning embers neither of which you want on your head, this provides the protection you need – an example is Centurion Safety Products – Reflex Safety Helmet – Full Peak Hard Hat with Flash Strip at c.£13-£17
N95/FFP2 masks to wear to prevent smoke inhalation – an example is Nufasion 20pcs FFP2 Face Mask Black CE Certified KN95 Mask Filtration Rate ≥95% 5-Layer Protective FFP2 Masks at c.£13-£17, a more professional set up is the Dräger X-plore 3300 with 2x ABEK1 Hg P3 Filters – Professional Respirator at c.£40-£55
Goggles so you stop getting debris and smoke in your eyes – an example is 3M Fahrenheit Safety Goggles – Indirect venting, anti-scratch + anti-fog coating on polycarbonate lenses at c.£15-£25
Fireproof gloves as the chances are you will need to touch/move things which will at least be hot and at most on fire – an example is Rapicca Fireplace Gloves Fire Heat Resistant: Dark-Grey 16IN 932℉ at c.£20-£30
Wool/cotton or denim clothing – natural materials are best as anything synthetic can melt and burn but if you really do want to push the boat out there is always the Bulwark Women's Lightweight Nomex Flame Resistant Premium Coverall at c.£250-£325 and a matching Bulwark Flame Resistant 6 oz Nomex IIIA Regular Universal Fit Snap-On Insulated Hood at c.£60-£80 but this may be overkill! Remember that you need all of your skin covered up as the best way to prevent burns, there will hot embers flying around everywhere and a simple heavy cotton and wool setup should suffice.
A personal fire extinguisher to take with you as you never know when you might need it – an example is LifeSafe Small Fire Extinguisher for Home, Compact All-in-1 Fire Extinguisher at c.£25-£35.

With the right kit, an evacuation route planned, a car ready and a property with the very minimum of combustible material, you and yours should be in the best position to get as far as possible away from any flames and get to safety. Being prepared is the only way.

Wildfire evacuation kit

Item

Example

Guide Price

FFP2 masks

Nufasion FFP2 masks (20 pack)

c.£13-£17

Goggles

3M Fahrenheit Safety Goggles

c.£15-£25

Fireproof gloves

Rapicca Fireplace Gloves