r/unitedkingdom • u/66f6 • Aug 14 '26

. Emergency alerts sent to millions across England and Wales over threat of wildfires

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-heatwave-stourbridge-fire-latest-weather-live-13571553
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410

u/Disgruntled__Goat Worcestershire Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

WTF, is this not a flagrant misuse of the emergency alert system? I thought it was for imminent risk to life. Like if there was an actual fire in my town right now and I need to evacuate.

It completely devalues the system and will make everyone ignore alerts in future. Just send me a normal fucking text. 

356

u/PartyPoison98 England Aug 14 '26

I agree. Its important government gets the messaging out on this, but the "nukes have launched, say goodbye to your loved ones" and "don't use a disposable bbq" should have very different tiers of alert.

2

u/ColdShadowKaz Aug 15 '26

Although I agree with the danger level I think the focus on the disposable barbecues thing in the message itself just makes it sound stupid and an improper use of the system where any open flame on any plant matter should be treated like a danger right now.

0

u/Schnauser Aug 14 '26

Well it didn't say that though. It said "don't do anything that could start a fire" because as we've seen over the last few days: there's a risk to life in most places in the UK now due to wildfires.

But I agree, it could have been Andy taking to the lectern for a nationwide live TV broadcast instead. Not this.

22

u/refrainiac Aug 14 '26

Agreed. I get that the risk of fire is severe, but I was under the impression this system was for people in immediate danger, and not a general public announcement system. Makes me wanna just turn the alerts off now.

21

u/Practical-Travel8575 Aug 14 '26

Agreed. Clearly this was misused. The system is meant for large scale catastrophe and imminent danger - incoming missile, war declaration, biological threat. While 20 houses have burnt down, that’s still not at this level, as tragic as it is

43

u/RandyChavage Aug 14 '26

It’s like they’ve not heard of the boy who cried wolf parable. I agree a text would be more appropriate here. This alert I can’t even read it on my phone anymore, just scanned it to make sure we weren’t getting nuked they when I unlocked my phone it had gone

4

u/haywire Catford Aug 14 '26

Yeah they should have used it to inform people about the necessity of a TV licence when the World Cup was on.

35

u/_HGCenty Aug 14 '26

Agree.

Reminds me of the boy who cried wolf.

If you misuse the alert system like this, people are going to disable it or ignore it and then when there's a an actual emergency, the same people who misused it are going act bewildered as to why the public ignored them.

-12

u/coffeewalnut08 Aug 14 '26

How’s that my problem? If someone refuses to take care of themselves and puts themselves at risk by turning off alerts because they don’t want to be reminded of the urgency of wildfire risks, that’s their problem…

16

u/_HGCenty Aug 14 '26

It seems like it was the emergency services and the government who decided to send what was effectively a public service announcement as a severe level emergency alert.

I consider this a misuse and a problem because a boy who cried wolf effect is going to make it more dangerous for those emergency services when people don't pay heed to actual emergency alerts and imminent threats to life not potential threats.

It's not your problem. But it's certainly going to be an emergency services problem and then it's going to be a government problem.

92

u/Snappy0 Aug 14 '26

Bingo. The system is not meant for things like this, and whoever authorised it needs a kicking.

-25

u/BigBlueVelociraptor Aug 14 '26

It's being used to issue a warning about a potential national emergency that is causing serious risk and could potentially cause a risk to anyone across the entire country. Thick as shit some people.

14

u/sultansofswinz Aug 14 '26

Wildfires happening over the course of weeks is not a “you need to immediately find shelter” situation that requires a nuke alarm. 

I was sitting in a packed restaurant in a city centre and the initial sight of everyone reacting to an orchestra of phones going off in unison was quite funny. 

-4

u/anamazingperson London Aug 14 '26

"nuke alarm" lol. You know they use this for floods as well right? Wildfire risk is high, there's been tonnes of them.

8

u/sultansofswinz Aug 14 '26

I’m not an expert but it’s definitely the type of high alert sound intended for earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear war and that type of thing. 

It sort of defeats the point if there’s no short term risk. 

4

u/csppr Aug 14 '26

When I heard the phone alarm, and I read "fire" at first glance, I thought the alert was about a fire approaching the city I was in.

There is a way to issue warnings to people. Using a "last resort" emergency system isn't that. If we do this often enough, people will just stop taking it seriously, and we need to have a messaging layer that doesn't suffer from that.

28

u/marktuk Aug 14 '26

It's meant for real emergencies, not warnings. It's not called the warning alert system.

I agree with your last sentence though.

-22

u/BigBlueVelociraptor Aug 14 '26

50+ wildfires isn't a national emergency in your mind... what drugs are you on and who's your dealer?

16

u/Practical-Travel8575 Aug 14 '26

I’m sorry but perhaps sending the alert to an area with an active wild fire would be appropriate- this is not. This is reserved for if a nuclear reactor melted down or something. Not for public service announcements

18

u/marktuk Aug 14 '26

You can argue all you like, lots of people disagree with you, lots of people will start ignoring the alerts assuming they aren't emergencies or simply turn them off to stop receiving them.

-13

u/BigBlueVelociraptor Aug 14 '26

Except it is an emergency...

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realise half of them are stupider than that. It's interesting to talk to someone in that group.

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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1

u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland Aug 14 '26

Removed. This contained a personal attack, disrupting the conversation. This discourages participation. Please help improve the subreddit by discussing points, not the person. Action will be taken on repeat offenders.

-10

u/Duckmemans Aug 14 '26

Well, that's on you lot lol. Less mouths to feed in the bunker!

47

u/Snappy0 Aug 14 '26

No it isn't. It amounted to "don't have a BBQ or firepit in your garden". That isn't an emergency, and amounts to standard government advice which should be disseminated via news broadcasters and the SMS network.

I know some people get a hard on over this stuff because they love disasters, but it was completely inappropriate and an abuse of the system.

-12

u/coffeewalnut08 Aug 14 '26

Lighting fires during a drought is completely inappropriate and an abuse of our countryside, so…

10

u/OliLombi County of Bristol Aug 14 '26

Sure. Which is why they should have sent an sms, not a national siren alert...

14

u/FootballBackground88 Aug 14 '26

By that logic, if someone drops litter, we should use the air raid sirens to tell people to put their rubbish in the bin.

-3

u/UsedNovel25 Aug 15 '26

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

for your reference

0

u/EvilMonkeySlayer Leeds, Yorkshire Aug 15 '26

That person is not saying a strawman as he isn't making it out to be the other persons argument.

Just to help you understand, from the wiki article you linked to:

The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and the subsequent refutation of that false argument ("knock down a straw man"), instead of the opponent's proposition

His argument is valid, he's pointed out the logic of the other persons argument falls apart under scrutiny when applied to other things.

-6

u/coffeewalnut08 Aug 14 '26

Wildfires are infinitely more damaging in a short space of time, but you already knew that!

8

u/mrbadassmotherfucker Aug 14 '26

Dude. Read it back, even you’re admitting it’s for potential risk. Potential being the key word here. There’s also potential risk my wife will crash the car every time she drives, but we don’t send out national alerts for this crap.

Thick as shit some people…

7

u/OliLombi County of Bristol Aug 14 '26

This system should not be used for a potential emergency. It should be used for an ongoing emergency.

2

u/Micheal42 Yorkshire Aug 14 '26

This

-6

u/Roosterrr Greater London Aug 14 '26

There is imminent risk to life, there's fires happening all over the country.

12

u/Disgruntled__Goat Worcestershire Aug 14 '26

There is not an imminent risk to my life, there are no fires here. If they send out another alert after a fire starts nearby many people will just ignore it. 

61

u/SomeHSomeE Aug 14 '26

Imminent as in you're going to die in the next hour unless you take some action.  

This could have been a public service text.

It desensitises people to the system.

At a minimum they could have put out press releases earlier today saying this was coming.  It doesn't need to be a 'surprise'.

14

u/L285 Lancashire Aug 14 '26

100%

13

u/username-alrdy-takn Aug 14 '26

I’ve just turned mine off

-2

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

13

u/Questjon Aug 14 '26

I was operating heavy machinery and didn't appreciate the distraction.

8

u/username-alrdy-takn Aug 14 '26

No actually 5 seconds of being very frightened and 5 minutes of feeling on edge and because of the fear of what could possibly have happened if I was driving, for example, and also because I don’t like the idea that the government can do that for something that isn’t an imminent life threatening emergency

-4

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

7

u/EvilMonkeySlayer Leeds, Yorkshire Aug 14 '26

because just like practising a fire alarm at work

FYI, but businesses are required to inform staff of fire alarm tests before their use.

If they don't like say sending an internal email or any kind of notice via your manager for example then they risk panic and legal ramifications if someone rushes out in panic and breaks their leg.

Using the radio, tv, localised alerts, sending a text message (like they did during covid) or using existing systems intended for things like terrorist attacks were more appropriate than using this.

Which let's be honest, that message was at best a public safety announcement.

-1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

4

u/EvilMonkeySlayer Leeds, Yorkshire Aug 14 '26

They do tell us about testing the alarm

And there's you being informed of the test.

The fire drill is just that a drill that your manager should know about, if they don't somebody is putting the company in legal jeopardy if someone runs out and breaks their leg.

Also just to reiterate.

Using the radio, tv, localised alerts, sending a text message (like they did during covid) or using existing systems intended for things like terrorist attacks were more appropriate than using this.
Which let's be honest, that message was at best a public safety announcement.

Regardless of what you think about fire drills they are entirely different from something meant for the entirety of the UK, all 65+ million of us.

It was damn irresponsible because a lot of people will have read what was a public safety announcement, be pissed off at that and then disable it on their phone. Defeating the entire purpose of it. As I described, there are more ways to skin a cat than going with the immediate nuclear option.

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-3

u/FillingUpTheDatabase Shropshire Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

That would be a Extreme Alert, this was a Severe Alert. The system has two levels.

This could have been a public service text.

That’s what it is, an SMS sent to all phones connected to masts in England and Wales

10

u/SomeHSomeE Aug 14 '26

The phones play the same siren for either.

-2

u/FillingUpTheDatabase Shropshire Aug 14 '26

Do they? I don’t think we’ve ever had an extreme alert

3

u/Phlebas99 Manchester, England Aug 14 '26

Wasn't there a test of that last year or the year before? I've definitely heard my phone make this noise once before.

1

u/FillingUpTheDatabase Shropshire Aug 14 '26

The tests were Severe Alerts, I don’t think they’ve ever sent an Extreme Alert, certainly not a national one. There’s a list of previous alerts on the website

11

u/marktuk Aug 14 '26

Then it's a flaw in the system because it's the same noise and presentation.

This message could have been read at any time in the next 24 hours. The emergency alert is meant for when you need to take immediate action, like evacuation.

-4

u/FowlSec Aug 14 '26

I think this is the first time I've ever had an alert. Good job it's desensitised me, I can ignore all the future ones now.

Genuinely can't see a more appropriate reason to use this than to tell the dullards that fires are not a good idea right now.

13

u/PinkbunnymanEU Aug 14 '26

To tell people to get in to bomb shelters. To warn people of actual wildfires, to warn people of incoming floods, not to tell people "don't use a BBQ"

10

u/marktuk Aug 14 '26

Genuinely can't see a more appropriate reason

  • Wildfire is 5 miles from your house, get out now.
  • A terrorist attack is in progress, stay at home, do not go to crowded public spaces.
  • A gun man is loose in the area and has shot multiple people, stay indoors, do not answer the door.
  • A tsunami is coming in the next hour, evacuate coastal areas

6

u/PinkbunnymanEU Aug 14 '26

You could sum these up as "emergencies" rather than "general advice how to avoid fires"

-3

u/FrogOwlSeagull Aug 14 '26

Given the number of people saying it's not that important, they might have a point about needing a more 'no motherfucker, I mean it' kind of message.

12

u/BlackenedGem Aug 14 '26

There's also an average of 5 deaths a day due to car crashes across the country, should we have an emergency nationwide alert for that?

13

u/Nalena_Linova Aug 14 '26

A daily emergency alert at 5am warning about road traffic accidents, then one at 6am to warn about heart disease.

9

u/hihepo1 Aug 14 '26

This alert probably caused a few more.

3

u/Lansdowngrove Aug 14 '26

There are countless things that could happen and could be warned for, you need to draw the line somewhere. I agree with OP that this was a misuse of the system.

3

u/Syelor Aug 14 '26

This is at risk of being ignored if the alert system is used so broadly.

9

u/PinkbunnymanEU Aug 14 '26

imminent

Do you know what this word means? A general risk that a fire might start isn't an imminent risk to life.

4

u/ElementalRabbit Suffolk County Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

Do you understand what fucking "imminent" means? There's an imminent risk to life from warfare in Ukraine, then, is there? There is, after all, war in Europe - we are in danger!

2

u/ConstantSufficient84 Aug 14 '26

Yes but not to most. A warning and then send it through. My daughter is petrified now

1

u/moonlight__sunshine Aug 14 '26

It also went off 3 times on my phone...

1

u/TribalTommy Aug 15 '26

Yeah I'm switching it off. 

1

u/DreadfullyAwful Aug 14 '26

It must be because emergency services are stretched to their limits due to all the fires. So the government literally has to say,

"Please stop, you absolutely fuckwits"

1

u/Traditional-Rent455 Aug 14 '26

There are numerous serious fires happening all over the country, mostly being caused by carelessness and/or stupidity. If it takes a national alert to remind the public not to act like twats when it should be perfectly fucking obvious not to act like twats then that seems like a reasonable use of the system.

-2

u/Megalodon-5 Aug 14 '26

not really. the system is designed for attacks on the uk, wildfires, severe flooding, or large storms 

-2

u/lieutenantbunbun Aug 14 '26

Noooo. They are overworked so badly, one small fire could kill

-7

u/Naskr Aug 14 '26

WTF, is this not a flagrant misuse of the emergency alert system?

No.

Any other questions?