On the evening of the 25th of October, the London Fire Brigade was sent to a home in North East London to attend to what officers might have expected to be a raging fire, but upon arrival any such expectations would be eradicated and the fire fighters would be met with something very different.

 

At around 20:00 as local residents were shutting the curtains to the Autumn gloom and settling down in front of a meal or television show, they heard that familiar and often unwelcome sound of emergency sirens just beyond their front windows; two London fire engines were arriving at the scene, sending blue flashing lights in all directions.

 

Officers on board had been sent there on the grounds that a certain automatic smoke alarm had been triggered around 10 minutes prior and the London Fire Brigade had not received any confirmation that it had been a false alarm; according to their website, the London Fire Brigade will only stand down if they receive such a confirmation.  

 

And so just after the team of firefighters- prepared to crash through front doors and carry comatose casualties from the most wrathful of infernos- had knocked firmly on the door of the informed address of the supposed emergency, they were met with the sheet-white, nervous face of an apologetic teenage boy.

 

The team quickly entered the house and began to inspect the property for any signs of a potential emergency as the young resident explained the situation to a patient and understanding fire fighter.

 

It emerged that the 15-year-old was alone for the evening and saw no better opportunity than then to try his hand in steak-frying, encouraging plumes of smoke to permeate many of the downstairs rooms of the house, triggering the fire alarm. The boy did not know how to disable it.

 

After around 15 minutes of search and inspection it became very clear to officers that there was no emergency to avert nor was anyone in any sort of danger, prompting them to file out of the front door as the youthful resident offered some final apologies, before sitting down to a slightly well-done steak dinner.

 

According to GOV.UK the London Fire Brigade attends to around 39,000 false alarms- just like this one-  every single year.