ITV News correspondent Sejal Karia reports on the people who lost everything amid the fires The outbreak of hundreds of fires amid record temperatures has been described as a “wake-up call” on climate change as the UK assesses the cost of the heatwave. As temperatures rose above 40C for the first time on Tuesday, major fire incidents were declared in London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire amid dry conditions. Tuesday was the busiest day for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) since the Second World War, with the service seeing more than seven times the usual call volume, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said. Although it is understood there were no deaths, the mayor of London said 41 homes and warehouses were destroyed across the capital. Residents told ITV News the incident was their “worst nightmare”. LFB Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Smith said: “Yesterday’s fires are another example of how we are increasingly challenged by new extreme weather events as our climate changes, and we are developing long-term strategies to deal with more incidents like this in the future. “ Several major fires have occurred in the capital, while two “large-scale” incidents have occurred in Upminster and the village of Wennington, east London. Aerial view shows fire destroying properties in London’s Wennington as temperatures soar during heatwave Bosses at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which came close to declaring a major incident, warned that the situation across the country on Tuesday would not be a one-off and the UK must “prepare”. Deputy Fire Chief Executive Dave Walton said: “Yesterday was a game changer and took us to a whole new level. The fires were spreading much faster than ever.” He said that usually when there was a large fire, it was possible to call the neighboring agencies for help, but on Tuesday “everyone was busy and completely out”. “Predictions are that we will have such heatwaves much more regularly, even every three years, due to climate change … we need to see this as a wake-up call.” ‘I ran as fast as I could with the flames behind me’: Wennington resident Steve Rolton describes the moment he ran from a fire In South Yorkshire, donations have started to flood in to support residents who were seen desperately throwing buckets of water at a huge fire that ripped through a road in Barnsley, destroying six homes. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was investigating the blaze in Barnsley, as well as blazes which destroyed homes in Doncaster and Rotherham on Tuesday. Meanwhile, crews continued to attend to incidents on Wednesday afternoon, including a fire at an abandoned ski village in Sheffield, which has left a plume of smoke over the city. Two firefighters in South Yorkshire were taken to hospital amid Tuesday’s blazes. Two of their LFB counterparts were hospitalized, while 16 in the capital suffered heat injuries. Among those left homeless by Tuesday’s fires are a pensioner who had lived in the same place for 60 years and a Norfolk widower whose photographs of his late wife were destroyed. A “devastated” Keith Gant told ITV News Anglia that he now only has the tattoo on his arm to remember his wife. A man tries to put out the fire in Woodland Drive, Barnsley. Credit: Facebook Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke promised the government would “step in” to help families affected by the fires – although he did not say specifically what help it might offer to those without insurance, whose homes or belongings were destroyed. London Ambulance Service said it received the equivalent of one call every 13 seconds during the two days of extreme heat, with a 10-fold increase in heat-related incidents compared to last week and an 8% increase in people passing out. NHS bosses have warned that the health service’s crumbling buildings are ill-suited to adapt to the heatwave, which has led to hospitals being forced to limit the number of scheduled functions, install cooling units and try to cool IT server rooms . Sangita Lal reports from Sheffield, where another fire broke out on Wednesday A spokesman for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said it suffered a major disruption to its IT systems due to Tuesday’s heat, which meant it had to postpone some functions and appointments. Nine people have died since Saturday in swimming accidents amid the heatwave and there has been widespread disruption to train services. The Met Office said 34 observing sites across England had temporarily broken the previous all-time record, from Bramham, West Yorkshire, to Charlwood, Surrey, while another five had equaled it on Tuesday. Want a quick and special update on the biggest news? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out what you need to know A total of six locations, mainly in Greater London, saw temperatures reach or exceed 40C. Scotland experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching 34.8C in Charterhall in the Scottish Borders, according to provisional Met Office figures. Heatwaves are becoming more intense, frequent and prolonged due to climate change and scientists have said it would be “virtually impossible” for the UK to have experienced temperatures reaching 40C without man-made global warming. Aerial footage shows the aftermath of the Barnsley fire There is likely to be no respite from the extreme weather, with a yellow warning for thunderstorms across much of England from midday until 10pm on Wednesday. The Met Office said that while many places will see relatively light showers, some slow-moving torrential downpours are possible. Where these occur, 20–30 mm (0.8–1.1 in) of rain can fall in one hour and in some places 50 mm (2 in) in three hours.
