Safety warning over Facebook fire call

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Fire-fighters have issued a stark warning after being alerted to a house fire through Facebook.

Crews in Bolton found themselves on a wild goose chase after a Facebook update sparked fears that two people were trapped in a house.

A concerned caller dialled 999 after a friend on the social networking site said two people were trapped upstairs just before midnight last night.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it received the call at 11.40pm and kept the caller on the line while fire crew raced to the scene where the call turned out to be a false alarm.

Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Councillor Paul Shannon said it was the first alert to come through a social networking site but issued a stern warning for the future.

He said: “People should not under any circumstances try and alert us to a fire or emergency incident in any other way than dialling 999. It is absolutely crazy to do anything else. The message from us is always get out and dial 999. We don’t want to get into the situation that people are genuinely trapped in a house fire and expect a status update to alert us. It’s a dangerous approach and not something I’d advocate.”

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service takes malicious calls to 999 extremely seriously and will now investigate the origins of the call and establish the identity of those involved where possible.

Anyone with any information can contact the service’s switchboard on 0161 736 5866 or email internet@manchesterfire.gov.uk