Numerous fires have broken out across London over the past 24 hours, stretching LFB resources thin
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) had one of the most difficult days in its recent history as it battled over a dozen wildfires on the hottest day ever. It declared a major incident as it struggle to cope with the heatwave.
Temperatures in London surpassed 40C on July 19 for the first time in history, and emergency services were receiving an unprecedented number of emergency calls.
Firefighters are still unaware of the full extent of the damage caused by blazes which affected houses, schools and churches across London, with crews describing scenes as “absolute hell”. Residents were being evacuated from their homes and people were rushed to hospital.
The two biggest incidents were both in East London - Upminster and Wennington, the latter of which saw several homes completely destroyed.
Jonathan Smith, assistant commissioner at LFB, said: “We’ve had a range of incidents today, obviously a number of which have been the result of the tinderbox dry woodland and grassland both in Central London and in the suburbs. This has caused rapid fire spread which has impacted on properties, people’s homes, schools, churches and other types of buildings.
“At the moment, because of the sheer number of incidents we’ve been attending today, we will be pulling all of that information together and making sure every incident is thoroughly investigated. Once we’ve done that we’ll be able to give an accurate picture of exactly the incidents we’ve attended, how many homes have been affected and if there have been any casualties.”
For all the latest on the fires hitting London, follow our live coverage below.
Claire Taylor, a mother-of-three who lost her home, said residents like her are still in shock as they seek shelter and help from friends and local businesses following Tuesday's fire.
“It’s tragic but we’re not the only people in this situation… there’s a lot of us trying to muddle through at the moment,” she told the PA news agency.
“It’s us, it’s our neighbours… looks like the top corner of Wennington Road all went.
“It’s all pretty raw, we’ve not been able to get over there yet, it’s all cordoned off… I’m still a bit in shock.”
Mrs Taylor and her family, which includes sons Charlie, Alfie and Louie, aged eight, six and one respectively, stayed with loved ones on Tuesday evening but said she knows other residents who were put up at local hotels and sports centres.
Claire Taylor, a mother of three, said her house was gone “within minutes” of the flames reaching the field by her home in Wennington, east London. She said her husband Antony first noticed the fire on his way back to work at lunchtime on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old told the PA news agency: “My husband was on his way back to work and could see the fire was close to us… as he got closer he actually noticed one of our friends… their house went up.
"So he was in there trying to help them get out as much as they can; they’ve got quite a few pets and stuff.
“Within half an hour they were in our house trying to grab as much as they could but (then) the fire crossed the road… within two minutes of it hitting the field our house was gone.”
Sadiq Khan told BBQ Breakfast, “The really good news is we had firefighters volunteering to come in and help out, we cancelled training and other things to make sure that all the firefighters could be fighting fires" due to the increased demand on the service amid the heatwave.
He added: “It really was a stretch yesterday – we got through it because of the great work of the fire service, but we can’t afford to have more of these days.
“That’s why it’s so important to adapt, make sure we’re ready, but also to stop things happening by tackling climate change.”
Mr Khan said fire stations in London had been closing down until 2016 when he was elected mayor, and his office has been “rebuilding” LFB with “more engines”, “more kit, particularly post-Grenfell” and “more firefighters”. But he added that firefighters, along with other public service workers, need “decent pay” to keep numbers up.
Speaking on Sky News, the London Mayor said: “One of the things that really makes me angry is that, what we’ve seen in the last few days, this extreme weather, this heatwave.
“At the same time there’s a leadership contest to choose the next prime minister, and no-one’s talking about the elephant in the room, which is climate change causing the heatwave where temperatures are exceeding 40C."
Mr Khan added: “What we’re doing in London is dealing with the causes of climate change and air quality by having policies that reduce carbon emissions, reduce particulate matter – like the Ultra Low Emission Zone – planting record numbers of trees, having water fountains across our cities, air-conditioned new trains, but what we need is support from the Government as well, because we can’t do it alone.”
Speaking on Sky News, the London Mayor said: "A major factor in some of these properties being destroyed was their proximity to the grass.
“Many properties in London are next to grass and it’s similar to what we see in California and in the south of France in relation to fires next to densely populated areas.
“Unfortunately in London many properties are next to green spaces – which is a good thing the vast majority of the time.
“The downside is that in this exceptional weather, we have situations where fires can start easily and spread even faster.” 41 properties, including homes and warehouses, were destoyed by the London fires that took hold on Tuesday, July 19.
Spending cuts have stretched the ability of fire services to respond to incidents sparked by the heatwave this week, according to the firefighters’ trade union.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said firefighters and control staff have been “stretched to the limit” responding to wildfires and other incidents as the country faced record temperatures, reported PA.
The union said the fire and rescue services that declared major incidents have all had firefighter numbers “slashed”.
Firefighters have been asked to give up leave to assist because of staff shortages and there have been a number of injuries to FBU members over the past two days, including hospital admissions, said the union.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Firefighters are at the forefront of the climate emergency. The demands of the job are increasing but our resources have been under attack by Government cuts for over a decade – 11,500 firefighter jobs have been slashed since 2010.
“We have warned of the growing threat for years but our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. The brutal truth is that Government ministers and chief fire officers have ignored the warning signs which have been obvious for all to see.
“The stark reality is that frontline firefighters and local communities have been let down by a combined failure of chief fire officers and politicians to face up to the scale of the challenge. It is simply untrue to say they have not been warned year after year of the risks posed by climate change.
“The same people then tell frontline firefighters to tighten their belts and accept a cut in their pay.”
Mr Wrack said the FBU will not accept a “paltry” 2% pay offer when the demands of the job are increasing, and the cost of food, fuel, energy and almost everything else is “soaring”.
He added: “There is a growing anger at the way firefighters have been treated for more than a decade and at the way our service is being dismantled in front of our eyes.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Firefighter pay in England is the responsibility of the National Joint Council (NJC) which consists of representatives from both the employers’ and employees’ side. Central government has no role to play in this process.
“Firefighters work tirelessly to protect our communities and it is essential they are paid fairly for the important work they undertake. At the same time, any decision on pay must be justifiable to the taxpayer.”
Sadiq Khan has warned that the fire service was stretched to its limits on Tuesday (July 19), with five times more calls than a busy day. More than a dozen blazes were burning across the city at one point, and over 80 fire engines were out at the same time.
Read the full story here.
Londoners have been urged not to have barbecues on Wednesday, July 20 despite temperatures dropping, because the grass is still dry and will allow fire to spread rapidly if it catches alight. This comes after the service received more than 2,600 calls on Tuesday July 19 at temperatures in the city reached 40.2C, with more than a dozen simultaneous fires requiring 30 engines, a couple requiring 15, and some requiring 12.
Read the full story here.
Photos show the devastating aftermath of a fire in East London on Tuesday. More than 100 firefighters tackled a blaze on The Green in Wennington, which took more than nine hours to get under control. Plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen for miles.
Check out the photos here.
As the capital starts to wind down from several days of extreme heat, the last thing anyone wants to hear about is more hot weather. Unfortunately, London could be hit by two more heatwaves before we even get to August.
Read the full story here.
Sixteen firefighters were injured fighting fires in London on the hottest day of the year, with two rushed to hospital.
Read the full story here.
Yesterday (July 19), temperatures reached record-breaking levels with high's of 40C documented in London. But with the extreme heat came extreme chaos as 15 fires broke out across the city, forcing LFB to issue a major Incident.
Here are all the listed incidents from the day:
Firefighters are unaware of the full extent of the damage caused by blazes which affected houses, schools and churches across London, with crews describing scenes as “absolute hell”.
Residents were being evacuated from their homes and people were taken to hospital amid fires in the capital as temperatures soared to more than 40C on Tuesday afternoon.
Two “large-scale” incidents took place in Upminster and the village of Wennington, east London, where black smoke billowed into the air, while flames destroyed buildings and ravaged nearby fields.
Several other significant incidents also occurred, with people urged not to have barbecues or bonfires due to the “unprecedented” challenges crews face.
A firefighter at the scene in Wennington, asked by the PA news agency what conditions were like, replied: “absolute hell”, while those affected by the blaze said it had been spreading “fast”.
Two people were also taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation following a fire in Dagenham, with the full number of casualties unknown.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has tweeted thanks to the firefighters who tackled blazes across the city brought on by unprecedented heat.
In a Twitter post he acknowledged the difficulty of tackling the fires which spready quickly over whole areas.
He also praised the steadfast work of the firefighters who faced enormous pressure across the capital which later triggered the situation to be declared a "major incident" by the LFB.
Sadiq wrote: "Huge thank you to @LondonFire, who battled through unprecedented heat to extinguish countless fires across our city yesterday. It was an incredibly difficult day for LFB but they truly rose to the challenge. I know that all Londoners are immensely grateful today."
Firefighters are still unaware of the full extent of the damage caused by blazes which affected houses, schools and churches across London, with crews describing scenes as “absolute hell”. Residents were being evacuated from their homes and people were rushed to hospital.
The two biggest incidents were both in East London - Upminster and Wennington, the latter of which saw several homes completely destroyed.
In a tragic yet historic day, over 30 Met Office weather stations have exceeded the previous record of 38.7C set in July 2019. Heathrow Airport was the first station to breach 40C. The hot weather created the perfect conditions for wildfires to blaze.
Severe disruption is expected on the East Coast Main Line on Wednesday 20 July, after a fire to the railway.
LFB says the large fire in Dagenham is now under control, but crews will remain on scene damping down throughout the night.
"A range of properties have been damaged and destroyed by the blaze as well as a number of vehicles and grassland".
LFB says: "Firefighters have tackled a house fire on Fauna Close in Chadwell Heath this evening. The first floor and roof were destroyed but crews prevented the blaze spreading to neighbouring properties"
A senior Fire Officer has said Tuesday was "a gamechanger" for the 999 emergency services - as the UK burned during the ongoing heatwave. He said that our emergency services now "face a completely and fundamentally different operating environment" because of climate change.
Dave Walton, a Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) for West Yorkshire Fire Service, said that he has "never known so many major incidents declared". He said this was a "peek into the future... where fires burn with such ferocity, and spread with such speed in suburban areas that you cant stop them".
A fire is now raging on a golf course in Twickenham.
You can read more here.
According to the London Fire Brigade, five fires remain ongoing. These include:
A car wash, two semi-detached houses and nine vehicles are completely alight on Hawthorne Avenue in Kenton.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling the fire.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a grass fire on Western Avenue in Uxbridge.
Around 15 hectares of grassland and undergrowth is alight.
Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling a fire on Ballards Road in Dagenham which involves a wide area of grassland and a range of properties.
Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling a fire on The Green in Wennington.
An area of around 40 hectares of grassland is alight, which also includes farm buildings, houses and garages. Fourteen people were evacuated from The Green and Kent View as a precaution.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a fire on Green Lanes in Southgate.
Half of the roof and the ventilation system in a single storey mid-terraced restaurant remains alight. One woman left the building before firefighters arrived and was rushed to hospital.
Throughout the day, two huge wildfires have swept through Shirley Hills in South London, grass fires have broken out in Leytonstone and Upminster, Ballards Road in Dagenham, and Sunningfields Crescent in Hendon, another wildfire blazed on Dartford Heath right by the A2, and a forest fire in Northolt in West London closed the A40 in both directions.
Firefighters have also been tackling a blaze at a restaurant in Green Lanes in North London, at a residential property on the Broadway in Wembley, a line side fire in Hatch End in North London, a house and business on fire on Sidcup road in New Eltham, a fire involving a car wash, houses and vehicles in Kenton, and a fire involving garden fencing and trees on Uxbridge Road in Pinner.
Several fires are still blazing, including the one in Kenton which the London Fire Brigade were called to at 4.18pm.
City of London Police has urged Londoners to respect the water and refrain from swimming in the RIver Thames.
Temperatures are very hot in London again this afternoon. The message from @TowerRNLI is clear: for your own safety, do not swim in the River Thames. Always #RespectTheWater. pic.twitter.com/oflF4Ke1Q9
The LFB has issued expert advice on what Londoners can do to help prevent further fires breaking out in the capital.
Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Smith talks to @BBCLondonNews about how you can help us to prevent more fires in the capital. Please don’t have barbecues or bonfires tonight & dispose of cigarettes carefully https://t.co/1ThCGrc33K pic.twitter.com/NxNFj7gA4m
The London First Brigade has warned about the risks of swimming in London’s waterways.
Charlie Pugsley, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety at London Fire Brigade said: “No matter how hot things get, the Brigade is reminding people to think carefully before diving into water. Sadly, crews were called to nine incidents in the past year where someone died due to accidental drowning.
“With a sizzling six week long school holiday ahead we want people to enjoy their summer by swimming in designated safe swimming areas while also warning people about just how easy it is to get into difficulty.
“There is the risk of cold water shock, which can cause your body to go into shock no matter how fit you are. It causes panic, anxiety, disorientation and loss of muscular control, which cause you to gasp for air and as a result, inhale water. Rather than struggling, follow the RNLI advice and 'float to live'.
“We would also urge people never to drink alcohol and then go swimming or attempt to jump into water. Avoid walking or running near water on your own or late at night as it’s easier than you think to slip and fall in. We’re not here to spoil anyone’s fun – but there is a very real risk when it comes to London’s canals, waterways and the Thames.”
A number of young man have sadly already passed away over the past couple of days after getting into difficulties while swimming.
Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled a fire at a shop on Sidcup Road in Eltham. The shop on the ground floor of a three-storey building was damaged by the fire. There were no reports of any injuries.
Station Commander Chris Brown, who was at the scene, said: "Firefighters worked incredibly hard in very hot and challenging conditions to bring the blaze under control. Fortunately, they were able to contain the damage to the affected area."
The Brigade was called at 1424 and the fire was under control by 1517. Fire crews from East Greenwich, West Norwood, Shadwell and Orpington fire stations were at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Firefighters have tackled a fire at a shop with flats above in #Eltham this afternoon. The ground floor was damaged. Fortunately, no one was injured https://t.co/tRtL0yd44M pic.twitter.com/FPE2icQyBI
Gold Commander Peter Rhodes from the London Ambulance Service said:
All our staff and volunteers are very busy caring for Londoners. We took more than 6,600 calls yesterday (18 July) – receiving around 400 calls an hour at our busiest times. We are seeing an increase in the number of patients experiencing heat exposure, breathing difficulties, dizziness and fainting so it is very important for people to continue to take care in this extreme heat.
Please stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water. If you have to go out, wear sun screen, carry water with you and try to stick to the shade. With temperatures hitting record highs today and staying high during the night, please do check in on vulnerable friends and family including the elderly and isolated.
To keep cool at home, close windows and curtains during the day and open them when the outside temperature is lower to let cooler air circulate. Sustained demand on our 999 and 111 services as a result of the heatwave, and with hot weather set to continue, we are currently at Level 4 of our Resource Escalation Action Plan (REAP) – which is the highest level and represents ‘extreme pressure’.
This move allows us to allocate even more staff on the road and in our control rooms and to reprioritise our operational efforts to ensure we provide the best care possible to Londoners.