![]() Mr Oakford said making a hoax or malicious call to the emergency services is a criminal offence and those responsible face punishment. “As we near closer to bonfire night, a period that is already extremely busy for us, I would urge parents to speak to their children about the consequences of making hoax calls, not just to us, but to all emergency services." ![]() Tragic toll of house fires prompts warnings from experts."Time is everything when it comes to an emergency and any delay caused by crews dealing with a hoax call could potentially be the difference between life and death. “Before you pick up that phone for a ‘laugh’, remember, it could be your friends or family that need our assistance. "Put simply, hoax callers are putting people’s lives at risk. "Not only do they mean our firefighters are tied up elsewhere, it also puts additional pressure on our control room staff who are not only taking the hoax calls, but are also deploying people and equipment to those ‘incidents’. “It might seem like a bit of harmless fun but hoax calls are a huge drain fire and rescue resources. When you've made your choice, press the Save Changes button.Īrea Manager Gary Oakford said: “When our firefighters are called to an incident that simply doesn’t exist, this means they are unable to respond to other, potentially life-threatening incidents – we simply cannot be in two places at once.There are other newsletters available too if you want them as well. Once you're there, put your email address where it says at the top, then click on the Echo Daily News button.First just click on this link to our newsletter sign-up centre.It's free, easy and takes no time at all. ![]() We'll also send special breaking news emails too for the latest stories that matter. Twice a day, seven days a week, we'll deliver the biggest stories straight to your inbox. It's never been more important to stay in touch with the news, so subscribe now to the Liverpool Echo newsletter. Now in a public statement, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has said hoax callers - who are out for a cheap laugh - are putting a "huge drain" on vital resources.Īnd parents are being encouraged to make their children aware of the sad consequences which might result from making hoax calls. Last year’s total was the second highest in the last seven years, and firefighters received 40 more hoax calls in 2019/20 than they did the year before. These were cases where a person called 999 or triggered an alarm knowing full well there was no actual emergency.Įach of those calls could put others at risk by stretching fire service resources and potentially delaying a fire crew from reaching a genuine emergency.īut the message does not appear to be hitting home. The latest Home Office figures show Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service received 227 malicious calls in 2019/20. The message has been made after new data revealed that the fire service on Merseyside received hundreds of prank calls, which waste the precious time of firefighters. A Merseyside fire chief has issued a warning to hoaxers saying prank calls "are putting people’s lives at risk".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |