The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has revealed some of the strangest 999 calls which it crews have had to deal with recently.
Amongst the call outs, fire crews have had to rescue a child who was stuck in a bin. Crews have also been called upon to free children from toilet seats and ticket machines.
The list of bizarre calls cover three years and highlights some of the more unusual scenarios which firefighters have to deal with.
The LFB has said that attends around 200 incidents each year which result in fire crews having to rescue minors after their curiosity has landed them in ‘sticky situations’.
But it also noted that there had been a 20% reduction in these types of calls when compared to 2019.
A spokesperson for the LFB said:
“As children begin to spend more time independently of their parents as schools and offices begin to reopen, the Brigade is warning to keep a close eye on little ones to avoid accidents.
“Around 30 per cent of incidents attended this year where a child was stuck involved fingers and hands getting trapped in small spaces, including toys, bottles, drains and even a sewing machine.
“Whilst over 75 incidents in the last five years involved children with their heads stuck inside objects, like potties, toilet seats and in between railings”.
Whilst children becoming stuck up trees and in swings are among some of the most common types of calls firefighters have had to deal with, some of the strangest calls in the last three years involving children getting stuck include:
- A child with head stuck in potty
- Child stuck in a bin
- A child with a finger stuck in cymbal
- A child with a toilet seat stuck around the head
- A child with fidget spinner stuck on finger
- A child with arm caught in a cinema cup holder
- A child with hand stuck in a football table
- A child with hand stuck in a ticket machine
Deputy Commissioner, Richard Mills, said:
“Children are constantly on the move, and it would be impossible to watch every move that they make, which means that sometimes, accidents are just a part of growing up.
“With families spending much more time together at home in recent months, it’s been tougher for children to get up to mischief under the supervision of eagle-eyed parents.
“As schools go back, play dates pick back up and parents return to work, we want to make sure that children stay safe and avoid preventable accidents, like getting heads stuck in potties.
“We will always attend genuine emergencies, but it’s important to play your part to help us use resources wisely.
“A watchful eye and a chat with your children about the risks of exploring hard to reach places can prevent accidents. Only call 999 if there is a genuine emergency.”
How can you help Emergency Services News?
You can follow Emergency Services News on Twitter, and you can also subscribe, for free, to our Newsletter, which includes a daily digest of our top stories and videos.
You can also find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.
We have also just launched a brand new podcast show that is available on Spotify.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
