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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think the wildfire alert about barbecues was unnecessary?

379 replies

HollyhockDayssss · 14/08/2026 19:55

Oh My God Reaction GIF

AIBU to think the alert was unnecessary? I get wildfires are an issue but informing the public not to use bbqs isnt a life and death situation.

OP posts:
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7
NotDavidTennant · 14/08/2026 20:07

I don't understand why they needed to use the emergency system to get this information out. It just means people will pay less attention to future alerts.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 14/08/2026 20:07

EweCee · 14/08/2026 20:05

I think it should used for IMMINENT threat to life - a national text message for this one would have been more appropriate imo. The alert service should be used for more immediate threats like flood, storm, war!!

Or fire?

People are dim. They go 'oh, who set an alarm for now?' or 'what is this?'. They now know it's an alert and the main concern right now is twats playing with fire. Hopefully some will decide against it now. But when they inevitably don't, fewer may see their entire lives going up in smoke tonight and tomorrow.

Mespher · 14/08/2026 20:09

EweCee · 14/08/2026 20:05

I think it should used for IMMINENT threat to life - a national text message for this one would have been more appropriate imo. The alert service should be used for more immediate threats like flood, storm, war!!

I also think this, I thought it was meant to be used if the danger was near, if they send out too many of these information messages people will switch it off

Allmarbleslost · 14/08/2026 20:09

Are you saying fire isn't a life or death situation?

scalt · 14/08/2026 20:10

EweCee · 14/08/2026 20:05

I think it should used for IMMINENT threat to life - a national text message for this one would have been more appropriate imo. The alert service should be used for more immediate threats like flood, storm, war!!

Yep. Should have been text message, the full siren was OTT. I bet a few cars swerved on that alarm. Off to disable these alerts on my phone, while they become more frequent by stealth, like internet advertising and cookie warnings which infiltrated our laptops like boiling frogs, and we wonder “how did we get here”?

Did we get a text reminding us not to look at the eclipse, or did I miss it?

Mespher · 14/08/2026 20:11

Allmarbleslost · 14/08/2026 20:09

Are you saying fire isn't a life or death situation?

It is if you are near it, not if you are 100 miles away

GCAcademic · 14/08/2026 20:11

I've just received it for the second time, 30 minutes apart. I do think the second time was unnecessary and hope they are not going to be spamming us.

Nincompoo · 14/08/2026 20:11

muddyford · 14/08/2026 19:59

Wish he'd included fireworks and those moronic sky lanterns.

it did include fireworks.

but if a person is thick enough to set them off at the moment anyway then I doubt they’re capable of reading it, and lantern users are beyond hope anyway.

MrsOni · 14/08/2026 20:11

NotDavidTennant · 14/08/2026 20:07

I don't understand why they needed to use the emergency system to get this information out. It just means people will pay less attention to future alerts.

Probably because the morons are ignoring the temporary ban and still risking lives for the sake of some poorly cooked sausages.

Ukholidaysaregreat · 14/08/2026 20:13

I think it was a good idea. Barbeques are included! No naked flames. Whole country is a tinder box.

Lomonald · 14/08/2026 20:14

HollyhockDayssss · 14/08/2026 19:55

AIBU to think the alert was unnecessary? I get wildfires are an issue but informing the public not to use bbqs isnt a life and death situation.

Of course it is a risk ! There has been fires all over the UK the ground is a tinder box. Instant BBqs are so unsafe. Your friends "gif" is bloody immature get a hold of yourself.

Mumtotornadoes · 14/08/2026 20:14

It was bloody annoying and unwarranted. It's going to make people ignore it in future. It's supposed to be for imminent threats actual emergency messages. Not "don't have BBQs this weekend" then it's going to be "don't swim in lakes this weekend" "don't use your hosepipe" "don't put cardboard in the general waste bin" it should be reserved for actual emergencies.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2026 20:14

Mespher · 14/08/2026 20:11

It is if you are near it, not if you are 100 miles away

I'm quite sure that, until yesterday, the people of Stourbridge thought fires were 100 miles away.

Nobabyyet296 · 14/08/2026 20:14

I’m don’t understand why people are bothered. It was a quick alert to warn people. Read the warning, follow it and get on with your day.

I’ve seen quite a few fire engines today and I hardly ever see any. It’s clearly a problem,

Favouritefruits · 14/08/2026 20:15

Message was great, great idea to remind people but it was just two months to late’

MrsPapillon · 14/08/2026 20:15

MrsOni · 14/08/2026 20:03

Have you not seen how devastating the wildfires in the cairngorms have been?

Then send out an alert in the Cairngorns or other areas where people are at immediate risk of death. The warnings are supposed to be to warn that lives are immediately at risk from a natural disaster or war or escaped tiger or something.

Surely they are able to send messages without the accompanying four minute warning if they just want to give us information?

Jcomingafterall · 14/08/2026 20:16

Nobabyyet296 · 14/08/2026 20:14

I’m don’t understand why people are bothered. It was a quick alert to warn people. Read the warning, follow it and get on with your day.

I’ve seen quite a few fire engines today and I hardly ever see any. It’s clearly a problem,

The second I received it… I thought “I bet there’s going to be loads of whinging threads about it on Mumsnet” and sure enough….

Mespher · 14/08/2026 20:16

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2026 20:14

I'm quite sure that, until yesterday, the people of Stourbridge thought fires were 100 miles away.

Maybe they should have had their own alert for their locality then. That would be proper use of the alert system

Jcomingafterall · 14/08/2026 20:16

I sense that this was the most excitement @HollyhockDayssss has had in a long time

Error404FucksNotFound · 14/08/2026 20:17

Really? I live near moorland and people with their bloody disposable bbqs cause fires every damned year. This year its worse because it's so dry. It absolutely is an issue when you've got twats leaving their hot bbqs behind to catch fire.

Betterbeingdead · 14/08/2026 20:18

If your neighbours bonfire just burned your bungalow down while their property escaped untouched as it did here

Allmarbleslost · 14/08/2026 20:18

Mespher · 14/08/2026 20:11

It is if you are near it, not if you are 100 miles away

But there is a risk of fire everywhere at the moment so I don't understand this argument. The warning is relevant to the whole country at this point.

Whosthetabbynow · 14/08/2026 20:19

Shows how stupid people have been that it was deemed necessary.

ifonlytheydlisten · 14/08/2026 20:19

A lot of teens and young adults will have got it. Mine very much got the message how serious this is now

Itsasecretnow · 14/08/2026 20:20

HollyhockDayssss · 14/08/2026 19:55

AIBU to think the alert was unnecessary? I get wildfires are an issue but informing the public not to use bbqs isnt a life and death situation.

Honestly, the ignorance! Of course it can be a matter of life or death, what is wrong with you? Or just fancied a goady post because it disturbed a snooze or something, op? Who knows how much wildlife has burned to death? Or how many will die due to their habitats being burned to the ground. All these species are vital to whole of life on earth, if tue balance shifts by much it really could be absolutely disasterous to your children’s futures, or theirs. People homes have been destroyed, people have been injured… it might seem like a completely bizarre thing to issue an alert about - I don’t think, in theory, that can be denied - but what’s more bizarre, and far more worrying is that things have got so bad with climate change that we actually even need a severe alert about something like this. That in itself should show you how serious this is.

You're lucky if you don’t live near anywhere that has been affected by these wildfires, so just enjoy yourself and turn the severe alerts off on your phone if you think they’re pointless, or they disturb you. I live not far from one area that has so far been burning for over 5 days, this morning it was estimated to have destroyed the equivalent of 280 football pitches. It’s a beautiful place - one of the national parks and (I think) an area of outstanding beauty. Beyond that, though, it is land that is a protected area for so, so many animals, fauna etc and an important environmental area. Have been visiting there for my entire life. The wildlife is amazing. And, yes, it has been discovered that many of the fires were caused by disposable bbqs. The fire this week wasn’t the first there this year, there have been many over the last couple of months.

Just open your eyes and see the wider picture.