Fire services have asked Brits to stop calling 999 to report barbecues after the Government sent a wildfire alert to people's phones. They reminded households to only call the number when it's an emergency, after receiving an influx of calls following the alert on Friday evening.
Wildfire alert sparks surge in non-emergency calls
Millions of people in England and Wales received the warning on their mobile devices yesterday, warning of "a very high risk of wildfires nationally". It told the public not to undertake "any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks".
The alert came after 19 homes were destroyed in a wildfire in Stourbridge, West Midlands, on Thursday.
Fire services respond to call surge
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service was among those who urged the public to use the line only in an emergency after receiving a high volume of calls. In a statement on X, it said: "Please only call 999 if there is an emergency or a fire producing significant smoke. We understand residents may be concerned, but we are unable to respond to reports of neighbours having BBQs, bonfires or campfires in their gardens unless there is an emergency." It backed the Government's message against using fireworks, campfires, or disposable barbecues during the heatwave.
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said that while it appreciated the public's "vigilance", people should only use 999 in a "genuine emergency or an immediate risk to life, property or the environment".
Heatwave and drought heighten wildfire risk
The UK is at high risk of wildfires after the fifth heatwave of the year, where the Met Office said temperatures provisionally exceeded 38C in London. Parks, grasslands and farmland are primed to ignite after prolonged spells of dry weather leaving them tinder-dry, and hosepipe bans limited watering in some areas. Swathes of the UK have been declared as in a drought.
Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh described the alert on Friday night as the "most extensive use" of the UK's mobile phone alert system so far. The alerts have previously been confined to specific areas to warn of local emergencies, such as severe flooding in Barrow upon Soar last January.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the public to take the warning seriously and said it was triggered at the request of firefighters.
