13/08/2026
As with many regions across Europe, the UK has suffered a number of summer wildfires as a result of the long hot dry summer. Over the last 2 weeks Suffolk has seen a major incident with a wildfire that has consumed 150 hectares of heathland and woodland around Dunwich Heath, this is one of the worst fires this year.
Supporting all 35 of Suffolk's fire stations and 600 fire fighters was Kemo Ltd's very own Iain Moffat who was part of East Suffolk RAYNET, part of RAYNET-UK, the Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network.
Working at Dunwich at the request of Suffolk County Council to build, install and operate a site wide secure radio network to address limited coverage of normal cellular, Airwave and hand-held radios in the incident area and to enable communications between agencies with no compatible radio equipment. Around 20 RAYNET members supported the installation, operation and maintenance of the system 24/7 in shifts from 5pm on 2nd August until stood down at 5pm on 10th August with up to 40 UHF digital mobile radio handsets in the field with separate channels for firefighting operations and site security.
RAYNET was set up after the 1953 East Coast Floods to coordinate the Amateur Radio community's response to civil emergencies and they continue to provide support to emergencies today.
A great effort from Iain and the RAYNET team, as you can see from the pictures, Iain even sacrificed his van as a mast mount to support the communications.
Whilst the incredible efforts of the emergency services are widely covered by the press there are a huge number of support activities that provide critical services to allow them to do their jobs. Well done to RAYNET and of course Iain, who is still finding dust in unwanted places.
To learn more about East Suffolk branch of RAYNET visit their website https://lnkd.in/gfTxYiyc
To learn more about RAYNET visit their site https://www.raynet-uk.net/
