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Every Londoner knows that when the sun comes out, so do the barbecues. The arrival of ‘proper summer’ is always accompanied by the smell of sizzling meat, but to the delight of many vegans, this is no longer allowed. Sadiq Khan has temporarily banned barbecuing after the London Fire Brigade (LFB) declared a major incident in the capital yesterday.
Over the weekend, the Met Office issued a level four extreme heat warning for Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures soaring to over 40C and Tuesday being the UK’s hottest day ever. Fears for public safety continue to increase as wildfires have left the LFB under enormous strain, having to respond to seven times the amount of calls they usually receive. To support their efforts, the Mayor of London has asked people not to have barbecues in private gardens, in parks or on balconies, to avoid leaving any kind of glass on grass, and to safely dispose of cigarettes to reduce the risk of fires.
According to the LFB Twitter account, although Londoners have been urged not to call 999 unless there is ‘a genuine emergency or if there’s an immediate risk to life’, they should not hesitate to call the emergency number if they see a fire, as ‘the sooner we know about a fire, the sooner we can bring it under control’.
An unprecedented number of wildfires occurred in the capital yesterday in areas including City of London, Erith, Dagenham, Chadwell Heath, Kenton, Southgate, Wembley, Wennington, Uxbridge, Upminster, Croydon and Eltham. Although yesterday’s major incident has been stood down and all the fires are now under control, the LFB is still on high alert and continue to urge Londoners not to take any risks.
So for all you meat lovers, although a barbecue sounds very tempting in the warm weather, hold off for a little longer. Burnt steak isn’t actually very nice.
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