Government alert?!?!

If that loud phone alarm is so bad, I hope people are checkimg ahead the countries travel to for monthly siren tests... Now that's a sound if you are anywhere close...

We did too. We had just watched an episode of Rookies where the same alert turned up on everyone’s phones to warn of a missile headed to LA. Couldn’t believe the timing. It makes you wonder what’s next.

Turned alerts off ages ago. No wonder people feel so much anxiety.

Not nationwide cos I didn’t get it. Wildfires happen every summer where I am..5 lit fires on our land one Saturday..fortunately didn’t spread but te hill over the town was wild

I agree with this.

made me jump out of my skin, I was at work in a hospital.
But I agree with the message and scaring people into complying. Fireworks were going off on Thursday for A level celebrations only a few miles from ancient woodland near me

Believe me when I say this alert was nothing compared to the terror of a large fire metres from your house. we’ve had two nearby in the last 2 weeks. Then one day woken at 6am to the strong smell of burning thinking our house was on fire. It was smoke carried by the wind from a wildfire approx 15miles away….now that is a terror you never want to experience.

The alerts are a good idea ! 👍
I can see why people were upset about it, but if the government don’t do anything they are flamed . They can’t win.

About time too… I was only saying to my parents that it’s nuts they’ve enforced a hosepipe ban but not made fires or BBQs illegal during this dry hot spell.
we were just about to reverse car and the alarms scared us 🤣

Why the hysteria from some of you? The purpose of these alerts are to warn us of potential danger or to be aware of potential danger. I will hazard a guess that some of you getting in a tizz over these messages would also be saying “why weren’t we warned” if we hadn’t been.
Read the message right through, stop panicking. As in the comedy, remember, ‘Don’t panic, Captain Mainwaring’ 😊

A general alert is to make us all aware - many, many areas within the UK are tinder dry - anywhere in these regions is a potential fire hazard, and unfortunately there are people out there stupid enough to discard a cigarette end or light one of those instant barbecues, (or, even worse, deliberately start a fire), without thinking about the potentially devastating consequences of their actions. If these alerts help to stop some of these thoughtless individuals in their tracks, then they are well worth sending out. Just because your area hasn’t been affected on this occasion does not mean it never can be. Be grateful that these alerts are in existence instead of moaning about them, and be grateful that it isn’t your home that has just been burnt down as is the case for those poor souls in Stourbridge.

A friend of mine was staying overnight in one of the affected Welsh valleys. There was a small fire a few miles away when she went to bed.

It worsened overnight and got very close. THAT is when the alert should have been used, to prepare her to evacuate and await further instructions. As it was she just got the general alert when she was already safely back home. Pointless

Really shook me. Thought my phone had been hijacked by scammers.

Why don't the Gov just ban those awful cheap bbqs for good Along with fire works, that are another potentially idiot hazard and death trap.
📱🇬🇧🤬

Stourbridge resident here, made me jump, but under the circumstances not surprised. We’ve had some before, but usually for floods or storms. We can still smell burning, so didn’t really need it!!

It popped up on DH's phone and we jumped, then I thought why didn't I get one? A few seconds later I did so we jumped again, then I got a second one lol 😆

I think it is a really good idea. We lived in the Moddle East for a long time and they use this alert system for all public messages. There is no excuse of being unaware. This may not have been the most important of alerts but apparently it was requested by the fire brigade.
on the whole I am in favour of it.

It scared the shit out of me too, and then I lay in bed listening to fuckwits letting off fireworks, which scared me even more. Maybe a government ad explaining to idiots what a national emergency actually means.

Something really bad is happening!

Yes I think you are. I know nobody has died yet but firefighters have been hospitalised and people have seen their homes burnt to ashes.
There will always be some entitled fuckwit who decides to have their BBQ because they will never cause a fire…they’ve obviously never experienced the ferocity with which a fire can take hold.
And if the alert makes that person think again then I’m all for it.

A notification yes but not alarm alert . These should be kept for major incidents that require your immediate attention and action.
A forest fire close to you yes , tsunami yes, earthquake yes .
But not information needing no immediate action .

I've had quite a few of these, all storm related, so I didn't jump.. however this one came through in Welsh and the English version took ages! DS2 dragged up a bit of Welsh from schooldays and muttered something about a fire.
Que me running outside to sniff the Preseli mountain air for smoke 🫣

I do think it's necessary though, plenty of idiots on our fair land!!

totally agree! Just because people think they are above this kind of thing even if it stops just one person having their property burnt to the ground through no fault of their own by a careless idiot I think it was worth it personally.

My backside was just about to hit the toilet seat, when the bloody siren went off. Frightened the life out of me, worked out, l definitely needed the loo

We weren’t scared really as just cooking - so read it right away.

I can see that they want people to take the wildfires seriously as this is the first time (according to the guardian) that wildfires (EDIT in the UK) have endangered peoples homes but at the same time what about the safety of people driving who jumped out of their skin when they got the alert through! What if that tiny lapse caused an accident?

I’m on the fence - probably seemed like a nice decisive action from the cobra meeting!

I didn’t get the test alert through I’m kinda glad I got a ‘proper’ one which wasn’t too ‘proper’ if that makes sense.

We were staying in a UK holiday cottage. My phone was in the lounge with my Dd's, DH had popped to the shop and I was in the bedroom packing to come home. My first thought was, 'Oh shit, what alarm have the girls managed to set off'. It was only when the voice message started playing I realised it was coming from my phone.

I live in an area where there have been many wildfires. One of them there was a strong smell of smoke in my home. I live next to fields and woodland. It is a scary situation. If the alert stops just one idiot causing a fire it's no bad thing.

YABU . You would be moaning if you weren't told and it was nearby...... people are losing houses. Try a little empathy