POLICE officers were \u201creally struggling\u201d in the recent heatwave, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
UK temperatures topped 40\u2103 for the first time ever on 18-19 July, and the national Federation called on Chief Constables to ensure working conditions were reasonable, comfortable and safe.<\/p>\n
PFEW said in a statement: \u201cThese temperatures present a serious risk of sunstroke, heat stress and sunburn. Working in hot weather can also lead to dehydration, tiredness, muscle cramps, rashes, fainting, and \u2013 in the most extreme cases \u2013 loss of consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
In South Yorkshire, a major incident was declared as wildfires swept across the region, overwhelming the fire service and putting more pressure on officers to help out.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cMy car reached 42 degrees outside one of the stations, so it wasn\u2019t easy. Our officers were struggling, wearing dark clothing with body armour, out and about in the streets, it was absolutely difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also found ourselves in a situation where we were having to support the fire brigade who were inundated with local fires. It was a very challenging time. I was actually in a briefing when they got called out to deal with assisting the fire brigade with a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve added that the force\u2019s response had been a \u201cmixed bag\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cTo their credit, some people in the force went the extra mile and made sure officers had ice pops, cold water, that kind of thing. Sadly it wasn\u2019t across the board. We heard that some officers were really struggling. Some police stations have air conditioning, but others don\u2019t, so it\u2019s a lottery.\u201d<\/p>\n