London Fire Brigade: one of the busiest summers ever

FIREFIGHTERS haven’t stopped all summer. Between May and August 2026, they have attended over 55,000 incidents and Control Officers have taken around 100,000 emergency calls.

The number of incidents attended – 55,838 – was the highest summer total in the last five years. It was 20% higher than 2022, when London had extreme heat and significant wildfires. The number of calls into the Control Centre was, at 99,329, more than 20% higher than last summer – and almost 25% higher than in 2022.

What accounts for the increase? A major contributor was grass and wildfires. Firefighters had to deal with 2,911 grassland, woodland and crop fires – which were reported in 8,783 calls coming in. Sixty-four wildfires were sufficiently serious to need six fire engines to attend.

Sadly, it looks like these numbers will probably get worse rather than better in future years – and the London Fire Brigade is planning accordingly. They have invested in specialist equipment, technology and training to improve their response to wildfires in London – and to help other Brigades out of London when necessary.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Control Joanne Smith explained, “Our Control Officers have faced an exceptional level of demand this summer… The sheer volume and sustained nature of the demand has required our teams to make dynamic decisions throughout the day, constantly assessing where the greatest risks were and how best to deploy our resources.

“We were also able to share our expertise and capacity with colleagues around the country when they were facing similar pressures, helping to ensure that risk-critical calls could continue to be answered and resources deployed where they were needed most. Our Control Officers have worked incredibly hard throughout what has been an exceptionally challenging summer, and I want to thank them for their professionalism and commitment.”

The Fire Brigade has worked with Local Authorities and landowners, encouraging them to take practical measures to reduce the risk of wildfires starting – or taking hold.

As well as more fires, the summer has brought more incidents of people getting into trouble in water – despite the many warnings not to enter rivers, canals and docks. The Brigade attended 240 water-related incidents over May-August, including ten drownings – both figures up from previous years. It has worked with communities over the same period to try to raise awareness of the dangers that open water can pose.

London Fire Commissioner Jonathan Smith acknowledged that summer 2026 has been one of the busiest summers in the Brigade’s history, while also admitting that climate change will continue to bring challenges. He went on to pay credit where it’s due, saying, “I am incredibly proud of everyone who has played their part. From the Control Officers answering emergency calls, to firefighters and officers working in difficult conditions on the incident ground, and the many people supporting our operational response behind the scenes, their professionalism, commitment and determination have been exceptional. They have worked together to save lives, protect homes and businesses and keep communities safe.”

Hear, hear!

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