‘Do not light these lanterns’ urge fire chiefs
PEOPLE are being warned not to light sky lanterns during Clap for Carers celebrations on a Thursday evening.
Thousands of people have been taking to the streets across Hull and the East Riding at 8pm every Thursday to salute the hard work and dedication being put in by the men and women fighting on the front line against coronavirus.
However, fire chiefs have urged people not to take the act to an “inappropriate” extreme.
A campaign started online recently encouraging people to light and release Chinese lanterns, but the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has branded the idea “misguided” due to the risk they pose to wildlife.
Explaining the dangers, NFCC chairman Roy Wilsher, said: “While I fully understand people wanting to show their support to the NHS, I would encourage people to find a different way to do this.
“NFCC does not advocate the use of sky lanterns and we do not believe they should be used under any circumstances.
“All emergency services are currently under unprecedented pressure due to Covid-19, and I am concerned this type of activity could not only put additional pressure on the fire service, but further strain on the NHS.
“If a sky lantern causes a fire, it could see firefighters spending valuable time dealing with what could be a complex and large-scale incident.
“Time which could be spent supporting vulnerable people in the community, as part of the fire services response to Covid-19.”
In January, 30 animals were killed in a fire at a German zoo that was believed to have been caused by a sky lantern - something fire chiefs are keen not to see replicated in East Yorkshire.
Supporting the campaign, Humberside’s chief fire officer, Chris Blacksell, said: “Please don’t do this - it is inappropriate.
“Sky lanterns cause us significant issues at the best of times. It’s even worse right now as fire services have enough to deal with.”