Government alert?!?!

I never got this.

Same in Scotland. We haven’t had one today so this isn’t a “national” alert. We had a real one in Jan 2025. I was on a bus and the poor bus driver was terrified but dealt with it so well.

I amazed you can turn them off (settings/notifications)

I have for tonight because it was going off over and over again but will try to remember to turn them on again.

What time did it go off for most people? It went off a few minutes ago for me. I never got any of the Covid ones.

Well we live in Wales and got the alert in Welsh. Like the majority of people in Wales we don’t speak Welsh so had to text DDIL in case we needed to do anything. 5 minutes later it came through in English.
it really should have been in both languages at the same time to avoid confusion

Me too! I was enjoying a quiet drink in a pub garden when everyone’s alarms went off. I looked up expecting to see drones or something. When I read the message, the impact of the alarm was reduced to one of minor annoyance. This will not stop idiots from doing what idiots do and some folk were still dropping their spent cigarette ends on the ground.

We had fireworks here last night so morons do need to be told would you believe!

Well, at least the local FB pages have moved past shaming people walking dogs in the heat, and are now posting pictures of people having BBQs.

Oh yes, we had a test last year, and there was one a few years prior to that.

I got the sound and my phone vibrated but I didn’t get a message!!! My son and husband did so no idea why I didn’t. That freaked me out as if it’s something important in the future I might not actually get it!

Driver delivering my online grocery order read it to me as his phone pinged when he was putting my shopping on my doorstep so I didn't get the shock of seeing it come up on my phone. I hope the twats who have been letting off fireworks over the road for the past three nights take it on board. There is a big patch of desiccated grass, if that catches fire and spreads to the wooden fencing that backs onto a row of terrace houses there is the potential for disaster.

There has to be one advantage of speaking Welsh!

I think unfortunately we do have to state the bleeding obvious because some people are still having bbqs.

some people are just stupid or uneducated and don’t understand the consequence.

agree that’s its opened up conversations. So many threads on MN so at least it’s got far and wide and hopefully people with think a bit.

we need the firefighters rested and ready to help - not exhausted and unable to protect our homes/parks/wildlife and businesses.

Yes yes yes.

That was a different thing. The national alert was tested towards the end of the 'covid era'. I remember because I was volunteering at a covid vaccination centre with loadsvif over 75s when it went off. People were complaining that it wasn't loud enough 🤷‍♀️.

Ah well, as long as it's cool, eh. FFS.

Yes, it’s a sign that things are genuinely bad that the fire service were the ones asking for it.

I'm sitting in the car with my learner driver son a lot these days.
I think if it had gone off while we were out it def would have been a clutch the handle thingy for me. He's doing well, but I am on high alert.

It doesn't demonstrate that at all. Lots of people ARE fucking stupid and don't get the bleedin obvious. Hence why a lot of perfectly sensible, innocent people have ended up losing their homes and everything in them because there are still too many morons really not getting it. And yeah, that is an emergency.

Oh, and for all those whingeing because the govt happens to be Labour, it's nothing to do with it being "a Labour government", "nanny state" or any other such whiny bollocks. Everything to do with the fire services asking for people to be warned so the govt did. I think a 'shock' like this is a good way to do it. Before all the dimbos start setting up their barbies for tomorrow because common sense doesn't apply to them. It might make some think at least.

I think the people taking such terms literally are the ones who need to get a grip.

Isn't it better to prevent an immediate risk to life?

I don't think it was a thing during Covid anyway. There was a specific app that people got alerts on (and not everyone installed it), and I am pretty sure we all had a text saying to stay at home.
This alert system in it's current form was not about then (but I am happy to be corrected)

DD’s phone went off first and thought she had changed her alarm tone for medication alert, then the rest of our went off. Not as loud as previous ones we’ve had.

I think it is sensible to do this at this point, it may just make a few people think twice and be a bit more careful. The pressure on the fire service must be huge currently and with the lack of rain forecast it’s hard to see it changing anytime soon.

I thought Alexa (who is a general pain in the arse) had gone off piste!

I’d imagine the 20 families whose homes burned down found it really bad.

I’ve lived/live next to two parks and the amount of people setting fires literally on the grass not even using a disposable bbq is astounding.

We had several wildfires here last summer, it’s a LOT worse in terms of dryness here this year. I just keep expecting it go any day.