The London Fire Brigade has called for a quick ban on disposable barbecues in parks and public areas after a heat wave of 40 degrees Celsius triggered flames throughout the city and the nation.
In reaction to an increase in callouts Thursday afternoon, the authority declared a serious emergency and stated that it has responded to more than 1,000 grass fires since June.
Two houses were destroyed by a massive fire today in the east London village of Wennington, which required the dispatch of 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines.
On a day when millions of people worked from home, major flames also broke out close in Upminster and across the Thames at Dartford in Kent.
In addition, there was a significant gorse fire today in Cornwall’s Zennor, close to St. Ives.
As firefighters continue to experience the effects of the extraordinary heatwave temperatures for a second day, the LBF tweeted today, “We’ve urged for an urgent ban of disposable grills in parks & public areas.”
Sadiq Khan claimed that numerous fires throughout the city have put the firefighters under “immense pressure.”
‘London Fire Brigade has just declared a Major Incident in response to a large rise in fires across the capital today,’ the mayor of London wrote on Twitter.
This is important: @LondonFire is under a lot of strain.
“Pls be careful. I’m in contact with the Commissioner, and I’ll let you know when I get any updates.
It happened while a heat wave that was sweeping the country reached around 40C in the city.
LFB reported that at just after 1pm, 15 fire engines and about 100 firemen were dispatched to the site in Wennington.
The fire appeared to have entirely destroyed at least one property, and smoke was seen covering a large area.
There were visible burns in the nearby fields.
Firefighters in Essex reported that they were receiving three times as many calls as usual as a result of a second blaze that broke out at Lickey Hills Country Park close to Birmingham, which expanded to an area of 50,000 square metres and forced 15 people to leave their houses.
Yesterday, the West Midlands Fire Service got 717 incident calls, an increase of 280 in just one week, while 54 fires involving fields, vegetation, and wooded areas were handled by personnel in Hereford and Worcester.
Firefighters in Nottinghamshire have observed a “substantial increase” in grass fires over the past month, and the trend has continued this week.
Additionally, the National Trust has reinforced requests for people to refrain from lighting campfires or barbecues and from discarding glass bottles on the ground.
Ben McCarthy, the Trust’s director of conservation, stated, “We’re on tenterhooks that someone would be irresponsible with a cigarette butt or inconsiderate by lighting barbecues, and us having to deal with a wildfire.”