London Fire Brigade declares 'major incident' after deluge of Storm Eunice 999 calls

Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @Smak2017 showing a tree blown over in Morden, south west London, as a rare red weather warning the highest alert, meaning a high impact is very likely, has been issued by the Met Office due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge. Issue date: Friday February 18, 2022.
Tree blown over in Morden, south west London, as a rare red weather warning is issued by the Met Office Credit: Twitter/@Smak2017/PA

London Fire Brigade declared a major incident on Friday afternoon after being swamped with 999 calls in the wake of Storm Eunice.

Firefighters took the action to help "focus their resources" and get to those most in need.

Emergency services faced fierce winds of up to 100mph in some areas as the damaging storm swept its way across the UK.

Firefighters will now prioritise calls where there is a risk to life and only turn up at non-emergency calls when they can.

London Brigade’s Control Room took 550 calls between 10:30am and 1pm, more than the average number usually taken in a 24-hour period.

Hire bikes under a fallen tree near Waterloo in central London

Some of the urgent calls so far today have included:

  • Canvas roof loose at the O2 in Greenwich

  • A van overturned on the M11

  • Scaffolding in a precarious position in Islington

  • A balcony collapse in central London

  • A large container on top of a high-rise building in a precarious position on the Isle of Dogs

Firefighters are reiterating their advice to ensure loose items on and around properties are secured and advising Londoners to stay indoors where possible and only travel if it’s absolutely necessary.

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The Brigade’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Welch said: "Firefighters are ready and prepared to deal with incidents involving weather, whether that be flooding or high winds.

"We are continuing to work with our partners to ensure that our staff, vehicles and equipment are available to allow us to protect Londoners.

'However, we are here to respond to genuine emergencies so we would ask people to only call 999 in that situation or if there is an immediate risk to life.

"Our Control Officers and firefighters have been incredibly busy today and we want to ensure our resources are ready to respond to people who really need our help."