Firefighters were summoned to an additional thousand emergencies during the first six months of the year - primarily because of the scorching, arid summer conditions.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) attended 5,409 callouts between April and September, in contrast to 4,436 during the equivalent timeframe in 2024.
This surge was predominantly fuelled by a 68.1 per cent jump in secondary fires, encompassing most grassland blazes that don't necessitate a substantial emergency response.
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Chief fire officer Rob Barber maintains that the growing frequency of wildfires witnessed across Staffordshire demonstrates that 'climate change is real', with sweltering, parched summers now becoming progressively routine.
Throughout the six-month stretch, SFRS tackled 1,794 secondary fires, typically smaller outdoor blazes not endangering individuals or buildings - rising from 1,067 the previous year. Primary fire incidents climbed by a more modest margin, escalating from 673 to 728.
Additionally, road traffic collisions requiring firefighter intervention saw a 19 per cent spike - jumping from 364 to 433.
Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams questioned senior officials about the fire service's operations during his public performance session on Wednesday.
Mr Barber explained: "This year we've seen an increase across all of our incident types.
"This is closely related to the hot, dry year that we've experienced.
"The dry weather started back in February and continued all the way through until October.
"This created an increase in operational demand.
"The most significant area of change was secondary fires, such as grassland fires, refuse fires and fires in derelict buildings.
"The service has conducted a great deal of prevention activity throughout the year to try and reduce the likelihood of these fires, which included teams patrolling hotspot areas, delivering posters and engaging with local communities.
"However, despite all that work, the conditions meant we still saw a number of secondary fires.
"This is a clear sign of climate change.
"It used to be that we'd have a hot, dry summer once in 10 or 15 years - it seems to be every few years now, and we are preparing for that, because climate change is real and it's hitting us in terms of our operational demand."
Mr Barber noted that while the spike in calls this year impacted response times, firefighters still managed to reach 79 per cent of incidents within standard time limits, just shy of the 80 per cent target.
Demand hit its peak in August, with firefighters attending to more than 1,000 incidents and the average response time rising to 11 minutes 32 seconds - up from nine minutes 55 seconds in August 2024.
The surge in demand has also put a strain on the fire service's budget, with a projected overspend of £400,000 on wages for the year, although the overall budget remains 'on target'.
Chief finance officer David Greensmith explained: "The overspend has been driven by the significant increase in operational demand that we experienced over the first six months of the year.
"The operational activity did start to reduce back to normal in September, as the whether became increasingly unsettled."
Mr Barber expressed that climate change is also contributing to a surge in flood rescue operations, and it's a 'concern' that fire services aren't receiving funding for this type of work.
"He further stated: "Climate change is hitting us all year round, whether it's the wildfires in the summer or the flooding in the winter, it's a constant that we need to keep on top of."