Fire services urge people to save 999 calls for emergencies after alert

Rob Freeman, Press Association

Fire services have urged people not to call 999 to report people having barbecues unless there is an emergency following the UK Government’s alert about wildfires.

The UK’s mobile phone alert system was used on Friday evening to warn people not to light anything which could spark a wildfire, including barbecues and garden incinerators.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told members of the public to take the warning “seriously” and said it was triggered at the request of firefighters.

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service was among those experiencing a “high volume” of 999 calls.

In a statement on X, the 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.”

The service said it supported the Government’s message and advised against bonfires, fireworks, campfires or disposable barbecues in the dry conditions.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it appreciated the public’s “vigilance”, but in a statement on Facebook asked people to call 999 only if there is “a genuine emergency or an immediate risk to life, property or the environment”.

That message was echoed by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who asked for 999 calls only to report “a new emergency”.

Four 14-year-old boys were bailed on Friday after being arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire was set on a mountain near Pleasant Heights in Porth, South Wales Police said.

Nineteen homes were destroyed on Thursday in a wildfire in the West Midlands which spread across more than 500 acres in Stourbridge.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.