FIREFIGHTERS in Minehead have looked back on a busy year in 2025 and thanked their families and employers for the support which helped them in their public service.

The Minehead crews were called out on 281 occasions in the past 12 months, averaging more than five incidents every week.

In December alone they responded to 23 shouts, including two car crashes, two vehicle fires and a house blaze, and three times to help ambulance crews.

A spokesperson said the year had proven to be ‘a challenge for many reasons, with a wide variety of incident types’.

They said: “The summer brought a large volume of fires in the open, with Bank Holiday August being particularly busy, especially with the Washford and North Hill incidents.

“The significant fire in Withycombe affecting multiple properties.

“The tragic road traffic collision involving the school coach near Wheddon Cross was particularly challenging, and plunged the community into difficult times, but demonstrated an overwhelming collective sense of support, both locally and from across the UK.

“While incidents such as this are extremely rare, for some the impact can often last for a lifetime, whether they are the children, teachers, families, passers-by who helped, or responders from across all the agencies involved.

“Our thoughts still remain with everybody affected by the tragic incident of July 17.

“While the firefighters themselves commit to often relentless disturbances from their primary employment and family time, we also need to recognise the support of those around us.

“Without the support of firefighter families and employers, we could not offer the response levels we do.

“A massive ‘thank you’ to you all.”

The spokesperson said the station was continuing to recruit new firefighters and anybody interested should visit the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue website and go to the ‘working for us’ section as ‘on call’.