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Original poster

Government alert?!?!

694 replies

hotmumshit · 14/08/2026 19:02

Uh Oh Wow GIF by Bounce

Omg? First use of the government phone alerts, i think??

OP posts:
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14
Latteapparel · 14/08/2026 19:37

NewAchievement · 14/08/2026 19:11

Because I’m quite capable of looking out the window and see that the weather is severe and am completely not interested in a prisoner who has escaped from a prison 40 miles away!

I’m an adult and I don’t need the government telling me what to worry about! Especially bloody wildfires when it’s raining outside.

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You might be capable but the knobheads who set fireworks off on Dovestone weren’t.

millymollymoomoo · 14/08/2026 19:37

Normal people do t need ‘help’
morons who don’t know this basic shit will ignore it regardless

Original poster
hotmumshit · 14/08/2026 19:37

roughtrenches2 · 14/08/2026 19:20

I live in London and this was my first thought 🤣😩 mine vanished as I clicked before I could read it and then heard my teens phone go off and I was like shouting what does it what does it say thinking I was about to have to prepare for my life 🤣😭😭

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😄😄😄 same in london, it just puts your mind in 'air raid siren' mode doesn't it!

There should be a way to not click off it, or an 'are you sure' before closing it 🤔

OP posts:
Switcher · 14/08/2026 19:37

CaptainMyCaptain · 14/08/2026 19:29

Ok. Burn then.

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Thank you sweetie, that's such a lovely sentiment when you disagree with someone. It's definitely how we'll all achieve happy lives.

Sereine · 14/08/2026 19:37

PigglyWigglyOhYeah · 14/08/2026 19:25

I agree. It's supposed to be for if we are in imminent, catastrophic danger - nuclear attack or similar. What next? Alerts that it might rain? Or to let us know Andy Burnham's latest policy idea?

It should only be used in an actual emergency. I heard it, saw 'wildfires' and assumed there was one about to engulf my village. I feel really angry about how it has been misused.

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If it stops a few idiots from going out and lighting those barbecues or firepits, or setting off their stupid fireworks, I'm all in favour.

DrBlackbird · 14/08/2026 19:37

millymollymoomoo · 14/08/2026 19:34

Thanks govt for yet again treating us like a bunch of morons. Without your alert id never have know not to light a fire in a wood right now

Unfortunately there are far too many morons that have led to the loss of many homes, threatening the lives of fire fighters and costing the tax payer millions of pounds.

12234m · 14/08/2026 19:36

Nearly had a heart attack and since I have breathing issues, not funny.

Just heard a friend's grandson has a friend who has lost his whole house, everything 😢 in a fire.

AliasGrape · 14/08/2026 19:36

I was actually showing DH an article about the fires on my phone at the time and thought I’d pressed something to set it off for a good few seconds. Took a while for my brain to catch up. Was pleased that mine went off significantly before his (or indeed any of our neighbours as we heard theirs after) - clearly I’m of more importance to the country all round.

Im rolling my eyes a bit at the frothing about abuse of power and how terrible the government is for doing this, it’s not an emergency blah blah. We’ve got 37 fires and 11 major incidents currently ongoing. If it’s not near you/ posing an immediate risk to your home and safety then just think yourself lucky I guess, next time it might be. This won’t deter everyone but if it might prevent some.

Headinthecloudsfeetontheground · 14/08/2026 19:36

Some of the responses on this thread astound me. Who’d be a politician? People are so unpleasant - this is to help us!!!!!!

NervousSheepy · 14/08/2026 19:36

It is also a national emergency because our fire service simply can't cope with much more. If you have a fire of some sort there is a risk if this carries on that no one will come to help because all the fire brigade and engines and resources are busy and needed elsewhere. A huge number of fields with crops continue to be destroyed, meaning less food availability in future.

rivalsbinge · 14/08/2026 19:36

Thought we were being nuked.. not just warning utter idiots not to BBQ. That could have been a TV advert pushed across socials.

Switcher · 14/08/2026 19:36

Binnyforthewin · 14/08/2026 19:19

I thought the system was meant for Nuclear attacks or alien invasions, not an arm of the Nanny state to tell us not to have bbqs. .

Welcome to our future, cajoled and corralled by more tech and nudging and surveillance. For our own protection, of course.

SassyPlumHiker · 14/08/2026 19:36

hotmumshit · 14/08/2026 19:07

My mind immediately went to war tbh!

Mine went to “evacuation” being I live near close to the New Forest Fires……..
I think it’s a great thing, kids with mobile phones will have received the alert too and if it makes them think, being as a lot of fires are being blamed on TikTok challenges/children, I’m all for it!

Darlinghag · 14/08/2026 19:36

We’ve had one before in Wales, during a red alert storm, but made me jump too!!

Gloriia · 14/08/2026 19:36

Haven't they arrested people for starting the fires at Stourbridge, so not wild fires so much as arson?

Obviously exacerbated by the dry conditions but we'll have every anxious person now having sleepless nights that we're about to combust.

CaptainMyCaptain · 14/08/2026 19:35

Strawberrryfields · 14/08/2026 19:31

I feel like it shouldn’t be an option to turn it off? Important info they so many ignore. If you know better it’s a mild inconvenience. Many don’t and it will make some (not all) think twice. Surely that’s s good thing?

Exactly.

Lobsterteapot · 14/08/2026 19:35

AirborneElephant · 14/08/2026 19:31

And that’s why they shouldn’t use it for this kind of thing. It should be for actual, local or national emergencies that require action from a large proportion of the population, not obvious preventative information.

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This isn’t necessarily a British thing tbf - got an alert for a factory fire when we were on holiday in Crete. It was absolutely miles and miles away but they were warning us to close windows

Original poster
hotmumshit · 14/08/2026 19:35

DrBlackbird · 14/08/2026 19:34

They had to send out the emergency notification though given the incredible stupidity of people lighting bbqs after months of heat waves and drought conditions.

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Completely agree with it! Did terrify me though, I did immediately decide it meant war!

OP posts:
Sirzy · 14/08/2026 19:35

Tableforjoan · 14/08/2026 19:33

Yes if there was a wild fire by my house and I need to evacuate. Not a don’t use fireworks or fire pits.

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So wait til another disaster hits? Rather than getting the message out there to help people be that bit more vigilant than they normally would be to these things?

Prevention is better than cure!

the80sweregreat · 14/08/2026 19:35

I live near woods. I thought it was about that as there are some troublesome teens around.

Latteapparel · 14/08/2026 19:35

PensionPTake · 14/08/2026 19:10

Made us all jump. Then I thought there must be something serious happening nearby (a wildfire maybe) but no it's just to tell us not to bbq etc. I don't think it's an appropriate use of the alert system and if they use it for stuff like this people will take less notice when they go off or just turn it off altogether.

And yet, morons keep causing fires.

DrBlackbird · 14/08/2026 19:34

hotmumshit · 14/08/2026 19:03

Just popped up, scared the life out of me!

Turning off my cooker 😩

They had to send out the emergency notification though given the incredible stupidity of people lighting bbqs after months of heat waves and drought conditions.

millymollymoomoo · 14/08/2026 19:34

Thanks govt for yet again treating us like a bunch of morons. Without your alert id never have know not to light a fire in a wood right now

JustKeepSwimmingJust · 14/08/2026 19:33

I’ve been on holiday for a fortnight. Have paid no attention at all to the news and knew nothing about pm announcements. Doubt I’m the only one too.

Note we haven’t had bbqs etc because I’m moderately sensible and don’t start fires when the whole countryside is a tinderbox.