The number of fires on Bonfire Night could rocket this year due to Guy Fawkes night falling on a Saturday, warn London's fire chiefs. 

Sunday 5th November 2006, which was the last time Bonfire Night fell on a weekend, saw London's firefighters attend 460 fires and 999 control officers take 1,545 calls, averaging one call every minute. Overall, fire crews attended nearly 900 incidents across the day. This was more than double the number of fires attended on each of the last four bonfire nights, which fell on week nights.

The Brigade is so concerned about the number of fires; it will be holding the world's first ever live Bonfire Night twitterthon in a bid to reduce the number of fires caused by raging bonfires and out of control fireworks. Throughout the evening of November 5th the Brigade (@LondonFire) will tweet about each of the hundreds of fires its crews are called out to and will be offering the public tips on how to stay safe.

This year, London's firefighters expect to be called out to around 500 fires and 999 control officers are expecting to receive around 1500 calls from concerned members of the public.

London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, said: "We're concerned that the number of Bonfire Night fires could shoot up this year. That's why we're taking the extraordinary step of turning to Twitter in a bid to shock people into acting more safely.

"Many of the Bonfire Night fires we see can be easily prevented so we're hoping the public will work with us this year to try and reduce the number of fires.

"If this initiative prevents just one person from being badly burned or losing their home to a fire then it will be more than worth it."

The Brigade's top three Bonfire Night tips are:

  1. Attend organised displays - they're much safer than holding your own
  2. Never leave bonfires unattended and make sure they're fully out before leaving them
  3. Light bonfires well away from sheds, fences, bushes and trees.

For more advice on bonfire and firework safety, visit: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/bonfiresandfireworks.asp 

 

Posted November 2nd, 2011 at 1210 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com