Government BBQ alert backfires as fire services swamped by reports of neighbours

Fire services in southern England have urged residents not to call 999 to report neighbours holding barbecues, bonfires or campfires, after a government wildfire warning prompted an unprecedented surge in calls.

The intervention follows last week’s nationwide mobile phone alert advising people in parts of England and Wales to avoid activities that could ignite fires, including disposable barbecues and garden incinerators.

But the warning has created a secondary problem for already stretched emergency services. Surrey and East Sussex fire services said they had received large numbers of reports about people lighting fires in private gardens.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said residents should not call 999 unless there was an actual emergency, while reiterating its support for government advice against bonfires, fireworks, campfires and disposable barbecues during the exceptionally dry conditions.

East Sussex reported an “unprecedented” number of wildfire reports. Simon Neill, a group commander at the service, said even a small garden fire could rapidly become a much larger blaze because vegetation and surrounding land had become so dry.

The warning highlights the difficulty of managing wildfire risk during prolonged heat and drought. Firefighters must respond rapidly to genuine incidents, while avoiding unnecessary deployments triggered by reports of activities that may be lawful but carry an elevated risk in current conditions.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged the public to take the emergency alert seriously, saying it was issued at the request of firefighters.

Other services have similarly sought to draw a distinction between vigilance and unnecessary emergency calls. Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service thanked residents for reporting concerns but said 999 should be reserved for incidents posing a genuine emergency or immediate risk to life, property or the environment.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service issued a similar appeal, asking people to contact 999 only about new emergencies.

The government warning came after a wildfire in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, destroyed 19 homes and scorched more than 500 acres.

With much of the country still facing exceptionally dry conditions, fire authorities are now attempting to maintain public vigilance without allowing the emergency response system to become saturated by reports of garden fires that do not require immediate intervention.