The 19th of July was the UK’s hottest day ever recorded. Met Office declared a red alert, the highest weather alert for the cities of London, Manchester, York, Selby, Hull, Leeds, and Doncaster. One of the consequences of the extreme heat has been a series of fires across the country. 

As Sky News reports, major incidents were reported by fire brigades in London,  South Yorkshire, and Leicestershire as dozens of fires broke in the sweltering heat – with flames ripping through houses, schools, and churches. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated, and many had to be transported to a hospital.

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The fire service of London received seven times more calls than on a usual day, given the extreme situation. In Wennington, located on the capital’s eastern outskirts, several houses were destroyed. Many others were seriously damaged after grass fires broke out.

Hundreds of firefighters and dozens of fire engines have been involved in tackling at least more than ten separate blazes across London. They had to intervene among others in Upminster, Pinner, Southgate, Wembley, Eltham, Croydon, Dagenham, and Hendon.  

Amid this crisis situation, London mayor Sadiq Khan appealed to the inhabitants of the capital: „My message to Londoners is please, please, please do everything you can to avoid a fire happening […] The number of incidents the fire service has responded […] exceeds sixteen hundred […] So please do what you can to take some pressure off of the fire service by not inadvertently creating more work,” – he explained during à speech given live on BBC. 

Image: Unsplash

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen