Hoax calls to 999 slammed by fire crews in Wigan

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that 85 hoax calls were made from Wigan landlines to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service between 2014 and 2019.

And the real number of actual calls is likely to be far higher, but the figures did not include calls from mobile phones or withheld numbers.

Fortunately, 999 call handlers were quick to identify the majority of the calls as hoaxes, because just five of the reports resulted in a fire crew being dispatched to the nonexistent scene.

Just three hoax calls have been made this year, in February, April and September, but no firefighters were sent out to investigate.

In 2018, there were eight incidents, while in 2017 there were 19 such calls made.

The bulk of the calls came in 2016, when call handlers had their time wasted on 29 occasions.

One incident in 2016 involved a crew from Leigh being told there was a car on fire near Leigh Infirmary. They arrived at the scene and toured around the area for about 40 minutes to make certain there was no fire.

Control staff rang the caller back, who claimed somebody else had taken his phone to ring the fire service and he had only just got it back.

Crews were sent out on four of the 16 hoax calls that were handled in 2015, while another crew was stood down in 2014 after realising they had been duped.

The reasons behind the calls, and any resulting action against the callers, were not held by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The same information on hoax calls was requested from Greater Manchester Police and the North West Ambulance Service. The police confirmed it held the information but could not disclose it as the resources need to retrieve the information would be too costly.

The ambulance service did not respond to the request.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “Hoax calls made to the emergency services tie up valuable time – both from the people taking the calls in the control rooms and also frontline workers, such as firefighters.

“We urge people to think before making a 999 call that isn’t genuine and think about the impact it could have. It could be your family or friends that are put in danger and need the help of the emergency services.”