Emergency services were inundated with calls about neighbours enjoying BBQs last Friday night, after government 'hot weather' alerts were sent to phones across the UK as temperatures hit 30C and higher.
The alerts urged people to report any active fires, but instead of forest fires, operators were fielding complaints about garden barbecues, bonfires and campfires. The volume of calls became so high that fire services had to intervene to prevent their logs from becoming jammed.
Fire service plea
In a statement on X, Surrey Fire & Rescue Service 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.”
Why Brits reported neighbours
Human behaviour psychologist Dr. Eleni Nicolaou told Daily Star that the behaviour is two-fold. Firstly, hot weather raises cortisol levels, the hormone that keeps the body tuned-up for danger.
“Studies have long associated increases in temperature with increases in irritability and aggression. Mukherjee and Sanders (2021) report in a NBER study that the probability of violence between prison inmates increases by 18% on the hottest days,” she said.
“I had a client complain last summer about the noise from her neighbour's music being louder than usual, although he didn't turn it up during the hottest week of the year.
“The nervous system has no way of knowing if the sensation is benign or dangerous, as both send the same signals. Therefore, a non-threatening BBQ can be perceived as dangerous rather than simply an annoyance.”
Sense of control
Secondly, reporting neighbours triggers a calming response and provides a sense of control, according to Nicolaou.
“Reporting someone provides a stressed brain with some control, as action, even as simple as a call, halts the helpless feeling that stress generates,” she said. “Reporting can be a substitute for a face-to-face conversation, since there is no risk of a bad relationship or confrontation with a neighbour when reporting by phone.”
