Wennington wildfire
{{Short description|2022 fire in London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox wildfire
| title = Wennington wildfire
| image = Harrison Healey Wennington wildfire image looking north at houses south of the road wide view (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Destroyed houses burning on the day of the fire
| location = Wennington, London, England
| coordinates = {{coord|51.5061|0.2189|type:event_region:GB-HAV|display=inline,title}}
| reference = {{Cite news |last1=Gillespie |first1=Tom |last2=Drummond |first2=Michael |date=20 July 2022 |title=UK's hottest-ever day leaves charred remains of homes and cars – and 'danger isn't over' |work=Sky News |url=https://news.sky.com/story/brutal-40c-day-leaves-uk-reeling-after-surge-of-fires-rips-through-homes-12655350 |access-date=8 January 2023}}{{Cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |last2=Southworth |first2=Phoebe |last3=Lewis |first3=Lauren |date=19 July 2022 |title='We grabbed the tortoise and left': Wennington villagers flee as their homes go up in flames |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/19/grabbed-tortoise-left-wennington-villagers-flee-homes-go-flames/ |url-access=subscription}}
| cost =
| date = {{start date|2022|7|19|df=y}}
| time-begin = 13:00
| time-end = 21:47
| timezone = GMT
| area = {{cvt|20|ha}}
| acres =
| cause =
| landuse =
| buildings = 18–19 homes
| structures =
| livestock =
| injuries =
| fatalities = 0
| missing =
| evacuated = 90 families
| motive =
| image_map =
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Greater London
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of the fire in Greater London
}}
The Wennington wildfire was a wildfire that took place in Wennington, east London, on 19 July 2022 during the 2022 United Kingdom heatwave. No-one was killed, but the wildfire destroyed about 18–19 houses, including all the possessions of many residents.{{Cite news |last=Patrick |first=Holly |title=Heatwave: Wennington resident says family 'lost everything' after house burns down |language=en |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/heatwave-wildfire-wennington-uk-weather-b2127259.html |access-date=8 January 2023}} One resident said her house burned down "within two minutes".{{Cite news |last=Heap |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Heap |title=The UK village devastated by wildfire – and why residents fear it could happen again |work=Sky News |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-village-devastated-wildfire-why-095100951.html |access-date=28 January 2023}}
The wildfire began when a compost heap spontaneously combusted. It took place on the hottest day since British records began,{{Cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=19 July 2022 |title=Day of 40C shocks scientists as UK heat record 'absolutely obliterated' |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/19/day-of-40c-shocks-scientists-as-uk-heat-record-absolutely-obliterated |access-date=8 January 2023}} and has been described as an indication of the threat posed by global warming in the UK,{{Cite news |last=Beament |first=Emily |title=Blazes a 'wake-up call' on climate change, firefighters warn after record heat |work=Belfast Telegraph |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/blazes-a-wake-up-call-on-climate-change-firefighters-warn-after-record-heat-41855556.html |access-date=9 January 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Palange |first=Alessandra |date=29 July 2022 |title=Opinion: My uncle's house burned down in the heatwave – so I made this vow |language=en |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/wennington-heatwave-fire-climate-crisis-b2132160.html |access-date=9 January 2023}} a country in which wildfires have historically been rare and mostly seen on isolated grassland and moorland areas rather than in urban areas.{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=Suzanne |date=20 July 2022 |title=Why we will see more devastating wildfires in the UK and how they start |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2022-07-20/why-we-will-see-more-devastating-wildfires-in-the-uk-and-how-they-start |access-date=15 January 2023 |publisher=ITV News |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Blakeley |first=Rhys |date=21 July 2022 |title=Wennington fire: UK needs to increase public awareness of safety |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/wennington-fire-uk-needs-increase-awareness-safety-climate-change-8n8r926nx |access-date=28 January 2023}}
Background
File:Wennington wildfire 56.jpg
File:Wennington Road and Wennington Cottages - geograph.org.uk - 3219690.jpg
Wennington is a village in the east of London, on the edge of the built up area. The area is surrounded by grassland.
Wildfires are a known risk in the UK, however, they are most associated with isolated moorland and heathland areas, rather than built-up areas.{{Cite web |last=Blackett |first=Matthew |title=Wildfires are becoming more common in the UK – but the threat can be managed |url=https://theconversation.com/wildfires-are-becoming-more-common-in-the-uk-but-the-threat-can-be-managed-187217 |access-date=21 September 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=20 July 2022 |language=en}}
The fire occurred during the 2022 United Kingdom heat waves, and 19 July was predicted by forecasters in advance to be extremely hot.{{Cite news |last=Grierson |first=Jamie |date=19 July 2022 |title=UK has hottest night on record as temperatures forecast to hit 40C |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/19/uk-hottest-night-on-record-as-temperatures-predicted-to-hit-40c |access-date=8 January 2023}} Advance predictions were made that the UK's all-time temperature record could be broken, which it was, with the highest temperature recorded in the country {{cvt|40.3|C}} in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, breaking the previous record set in 2019 by {{cvt|1.6|C-change}}.{{Cite web |last=Met Office |date=28 July 2022 |title=Record high temperatures verified |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/record-high-temperatures-verified |access-date=8 January 2023 |publisher=Met Office}} A long period of little rain before 19 July had also left vegetation very dry.
Although one of the most destructive fires of 19 July,{{Cite news |last=Luckhurst |first=Phoebe |title='I've never seen devastation like it' — life after Britain's summer wildfires |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/ive-never-seen-devastation-like-it-life-after-britains-summer-wildfires-s5qtjp7dp |access-date=9 January 2023}} many other fires were reported on the same day. The Mayor of London reported that the number of fire brigade emergency calls was seven times the normal.{{Cite web |date=20 July 2022 |title=Wennington fire: Aftermath pictured from the air day after blaze wrecked London village's homes |url=https://www.itv.com/news/london/2022-07-20/wennington-aftermath-pictured-from-the-air-day-after-heatwave-fire-wrecked-homes |access-date=16 January 2023 |publisher=ITV News |language=en}}
Events
By 10 a.m., London temperatures had gone over {{convert|35|C}}. The fire reportedly started around 1 p.m. from a compost heap in the southeast of the village which spontaneously combusted, with flames spreading along a garden fence. Although a fire station is located in the east of the village, the crews had been called out to other fires.{{Cite news |last=Sawer |first=Patrick |date=20 July 2022 |title=Wennington fire: Compost blaze that devastated village started just yards from fire station |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/20/wennington-fire-compost-blaze-devastated-village-started-just/ |access-date=20 July 2022}} The fire brigade was called at 13:06, and a fire engine arrived seven minutes later, by which time the fire had expanded.{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Ben |title=Wennington fire: Government support sought as council continues to work with residents |language=en |work=Romford Recorder |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/20677199.wennington-fire-government-support-sought-council-continues-work-residents/ |access-date=9 January 2023}} One firefighter told LBC News that "it felt apocalyptic, just crazy, we were chasing it and we had no chance of stopping it".{{Cite web |title=Wennington blaze firefighter: 'We had no chance, we were completely understaffed' |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/firefighter-wennington-fire-we-had-no-chance-completely-understaffed/ |access-date=28 January 2023 |publisher=LBC News |language=en}}
Residents took shelter in the nearby St Mary and St Peter's Church. The church filled with smoke while they were sheltering and the fire burned through the graveyard around the building, but the church itself was not damaged.{{Cite news |last=Bengoechea |first=Isabella |date=19 July 2022 |title='I've lost everything, it's all gone', says Wennington resident after fire ripped through homes |language=en |work=i-News |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/heatwave-fires-ive-lost-everything-wennington-resident-fire-ripped-through-homes-1751635 |access-date=8 January 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Francis |title=Fire-threatened church in Wennington had just celebrated repairs after a flood |work=Church Times |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/29-july/news/uk/fire-threatened-church-in-wennington-had-just-celebrated-repairs-after-a-flood |access-date=8 January 2023}}
Parish churchwarden Tim Stock said that his family had "lost everything" but had managed to evacuate his family and pets.{{Cite news |last=Bazaraa |first=Danya |date=20 July 2022 |title=Devastated homeowners flee heatwave inferno with just the clothes on their backs |language=en |work=Daily Mirror |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/wennington-fire-devastated-homeowners-lose-27526249 |access-date=8 January 2023}} Claire Taylor said that her house burned down "within two minutes" and that she lost almost all her family's possessions.{{Cite news |last=Bartholemew |first=Emma |title=Mother of three's home 'gone within minutes' as fire ripped through village |language=en |work=Romford Recorder |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/20678732.mother-threes-home-gone-within-minutes-fire-ripped-village/ |access-date=9 January 2023}}{{Cite news |last1=Vinter |first1=Robyn |last2=Banfield-Nwachi |first2=Mabel |date=20 July 2022 |title='This doesn't happen in Wennington': residents and fire services reel after homes lost in blazes across England |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/20/this-doesnt-happen-in-wennington-residents-and-fire-services-reel-after-homes-lost-in-blazes-across-england |access-date=8 January 2023}}{{Cite news |title=Mum-of-three has nearly nothing left after fire destroys home on UK's hottest day |language=en |work=Sky News |url=https://news.sky.com/story/mum-of-three-has-nearly-nothing-left-after-fire-destroys-home-on-uks-hottest-day-12656446# |access-date=8 January 2023}} One resident said that grass fires in the area were quite common "but it's nothing like this...this is like the apocalypse."{{Cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Poppy |last2=Francis |first2=Alannah |date=19 July 2022 |title='I've lost everything, it's all gone', says Wennington resident after fire ripped through homes |language=en |work=i |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/heatwave-fires-ive-lost-everything-wennington-resident-fire-ripped-through-homes-1751635 |access-date=9 January 2023}} Stock commented that "it was like a warzone...all the windows had exploded out, all the rooves had caved, it was like a scene from the Blitz".{{Cite news |last1=Brown |first1=David |last2=Wace |first2=Charlotte |last3=Mitib |first3=Ali |title=Wennington fire: Church left undamaged amid smouldering ruins |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/my-truck-blew-up-and-i-lost-everything-says-man-who-escaped-wennington-fire-gpq5m87v3 |access-date=28 January 2023}}
File:West-Facing View inside the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Peter, Wennington (01).jpg|The interior of St Mary and St Peter's Church, where residents sheltered from the fire (pictured in 2021)
File:Harrison Healey Wennington wildfire image looking north at houses south of the road wide view.jpg|View looking north
Aftermath
File:Harrison Healey Wennington wildfire image looking east narrow view (cropped to church).jpg
Andy Roe, head of the London Fire Brigade, described the events as "unprecedented": "I saw stuff this week that I had not expected to see as a London firefighter."{{Cite web |last=Hol-Allen |first=Genevieve |date=21 July 2022 |title=Scale of fires across London during heatwave unprecedented, says brigade chief |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/london-fire-sadiq-khan-europe-b2128631.html |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}}
Experts commented that climate change was increasing fire risk. Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Sciences at Imperial College London,{{Cite web |title=Professor Guillermo Rein |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/g.rein |access-date=28 January 2023 |publisher=Imperial College London}} said that "the UK will start to see fires which are much larger".{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Rory |date=19 July 2022 |title=The UK might face wildfires like Southern Europe in years to come, expert warns |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/uk-could-facing-much-larger-24532092 |access-date=8 January 2023 |publisher=MyLondon |language=en}} Dr Rory Hadden, Senior Lecturer in Fire Investigation at the University of Edinburgh,{{Cite web |title=Dr Rory Hadden School of Engineering |url=https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-rory-hadden/ |access-date=28 January 2023 |publisher=University of Edinburgh}} commented that "as the climate changes, the UK will be susceptible to these kinds of fires which can be extremely devastating...we should expect more and larger wildfires". Nigel Arnell, professor of climate system science at the University of Reading,{{Cite web |title=Professor Nigel Arnell |url=https://research.reading.ac.uk/meteorology/people/nigel-arnell/ |access-date=28 January 2023 |publisher=University of Reading}} commented that "while we might not see the sorts of forest fires sweeping through Spain, Portugal and France, we are increasingly prone to fires in grassland and moorland that have the potential to affect people, property and infrastructure as well as the environment...climate change is increasing fire danger across the UK, and we need to be prepared for it." Graham Beers, Station Commander of Wennington Fire Station, who had been attending another fire when the fire started, commented "These sorts of fires are not going to be the last...That's just due to climate change. Twenty years in the fire service and I've never really seen devastation like it."{{Cite news |last=Idris |first=Arike |title='They lost everything': The Essex village destroyed by wildfire still trying to recover six months later |work=Essex Live |url=https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/they-lost-everything-essex-village-8028502 |access-date=29 January 2023}} Paul Davies, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, commented that the heatwave would have been "impossible in the pre-industrial era".{{Cite news |last1=Glancy |first1=Josh |last2=Spencer |first2=Ben |title=Why tinderbox Britain should stay on red alert |work=The Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/why-tinderbox-britain-should-stay-on-red-alert-h99gwgmps |access-date=28 January 2023}} LFB Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Smith commented "we are increasingly being challenged by new extremes of weather as our climate changes and we're developing long-term strategies to deal with more incidents like this in the future."
Another grass fire began burning in the area three days later,{{Cite news |last=Brookes |first=Andrew |title=Crews called to grass fire near Wennington |language=en |work=Romford Recorder |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/20678469.crews-called-grass-fire-near-wennington/ |access-date=9 January 2023}} and another in August.{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Ben |title=Several hectares of Rainham grassland destroyed in fire |language=en |work=Romford Recorder |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/20675533.several-hectares-rainham-grassland-destroyed-fire/ |access-date=9 January 2023}}
Three Conservative Party councillors elected to Havering Council for the Rainham & Wennington ward subsequently switched to Havering Residents Association as they felt unsupported following the wildfire.{{cite web |last1=Mellor |first1=Josh |title=Tory trio defect to Havering Residents Association |url=https://www.yellowad.co.uk/tory-trio-defect-to-havering-residents-association/ |website=Yellow Advertiser. |access-date=29 July 2023 |date=7 September 2022}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2022/july/large-fire-involving-houses-and-scrubland-wennington/ London Fire Brigade report]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOWtjcWytmA Drone footage], 19 July
{{2022 wildfires}}
{{Weather events in the United Kingdom}}
Category:2020s fires in the United Kingdom
Category:2022 disasters in the United Kingdom
Category:Building and structure fires in London
Category:History of the London Borough of Havering