Ten hoax calls a day for ‘phantom fires’

Greater Manchester Fire Service is called out to almost 10 hoax calls each day, according to research from the Liberal Democrats.

Since 2003, there have been 17,395 false alarm calls to Greater Manchester Fire Service that have been classified as "malicious".

Across the North West as a whole there were 32,863 malicious false alarms during the same period, out of a total of almost 250,000 false alarms.

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has urged those responsible for the malicious, phantom calls to stop and spelled out the penalties.

He said: “It is clear from the figures we received that most false alarm calls are well intentioned, the fire service wastes time and money responding to hoax calls. These calls potentially take them away from a responding to a real emergency and that could put lives at risk.

“It astonishes me that despite a highly publicised campaign, malicious calls that threaten lives continue. People need to be aware that the maximum penalty for hoax calls offences is imprisonment for up to six months and a fine of £5,000. It is over 10 years since a leading firefighter from Greater Manchester nearly lost his leg when the fire engine he was in crashed whilst en route to a hoax call. We need to keep up the pressure as these hoax calls cost time, money and ultimately lives.

“It is hugely disappointing that there is still clearly a small minority of people who want to make life difficult for the fire brigade by calling them out to phantom fires. Whilst the majority of false alarms are well intentioned, with people adopting a “better safe than sorry” approach, there are still too many deliberate false alarms. The worry is that they will prevent the fire brigade from responding to a real emergency.”