News
Avoid Bonfires during Covid-19 Pandemic
19th May 2020
Bonfires
A polite reminder regarding bonfires during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hart District Council and the Hampshire Fire Brigade issued the following statement in March.
“We ask everyone to think of others and to not light bonfires during the current coronavirus pandemic. The effects of bonfires currently are likely to be much more serious and have a bigger impact. The coronavirus is known to cause serious respiratory problems, which could be made much worse if the sufferer is exposed to smoke from bonfires. We understand that the changes to collection services and the closure of the reuse and recycling centres may create a storage issue for some residents but please think of others, compost your garden waste where possible, and stack or bag up rubbish for disposal when the current emergency is over, rather than burn it.”
“There are also health issues associated with smoke caused by bonfires, including respiratory problems for neighbours - government advice for people with symptoms or who may be recovering at home from the coronavirus include keeping windows open".
“The effects of the smoke could also affect your breathing, irritate skin and eyes and worsen respiratory conditions like asthma”.
“We all have a duty to help protect our firefighters, the NHS and our local communities as best we can during the pandemic, and one of the ways in which we can achieve this is by not lighting fires in the garden”.
Even small, supervised fires can be unpredictable and can quickly spread out of control, resulting in firefighting resources being called away from frontline efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic across Hampshire communities.
A polite reminder regarding bonfires during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hart District Council and the Hampshire Fire Brigade issued the following statement in March.
“We ask everyone to think of others and to not light bonfires during the current coronavirus pandemic. The effects of bonfires currently are likely to be much more serious and have a bigger impact. The coronavirus is known to cause serious respiratory problems, which could be made much worse if the sufferer is exposed to smoke from bonfires. We understand that the changes to collection services and the closure of the reuse and recycling centres may create a storage issue for some residents but please think of others, compost your garden waste where possible, and stack or bag up rubbish for disposal when the current emergency is over, rather than burn it.”
“There are also health issues associated with smoke caused by bonfires, including respiratory problems for neighbours - government advice for people with symptoms or who may be recovering at home from the coronavirus include keeping windows open".
“The effects of the smoke could also affect your breathing, irritate skin and eyes and worsen respiratory conditions like asthma”.
“We all have a duty to help protect our firefighters, the NHS and our local communities as best we can during the pandemic, and one of the ways in which we can achieve this is by not lighting fires in the garden”.
Even small, supervised fires can be unpredictable and can quickly spread out of control, resulting in firefighting resources being called away from frontline efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic across Hampshire communities.