"When neighbours urged Lynn Sabberton and her partner, Terry, to flee from their home in Wennington one day in 2022, the couple weren't sure they should bother. A fire was burning in their village, on the eastern edge of London, but Terry thought it was too far away to be a problem. Struggling with a lung disease made worse by the record 40C heat that day, 19 July, he was wearing only his underwear and refused to budge from his armchair. Lynn remembers two police officers kicking open their front door and shouting that it was time to go."
"Lynn pleaded to be allowed to get Terry some clothes and was bundled upstairs to find them. Could she grab some papers? No. Her purse? No. Her cat, Jack? Also no. As they stumbled out into the unbelievable heat, the sky was dark and there was panic among the crowd of neighbours. No one was remotely prepared for the disaster unfolding around them: a fire that had leapt from a nearby field into the heart of their village. Over the next few hours, 18 of the village's homes would be burned, including Lynn and Terry's."
"In total, 70 houses were destroyed across the UK that day in a record 600 wildfires the largest loss of British housing to a threat previously assumed to be more relevant to California or southern Europe, and evidence of the worsening climate crisis. Wennington's fire was one of dozens that erupted in a great ring encircling the city, a scenario far beyond anything in the London fire brigade's (LFB) experience. The brigade, one of the world's largest, ran out of fire engines, deploying all 142 of them, and the log records incident commanders making desperate appeals for more crews, hoses and water that could not be met."
"The heat took a toll on firefighters, their protective suits becoming so sodden with perspiration that they turned wearers into a boil-in-the-bag meal where you're literally being cooked, as one officer described it."
Neighbours urged Lynn Sabberton and her partner Terry to leave their Wennington home during a record 40C heatwave on 19 July 2022. Terry, who had a lung disease, refused to move from his armchair, and police officers forced entry and ordered evacuation. Lynn was prevented from grabbing personal items, including papers, purse, and even their cat. A fire that had jumped from a nearby field spread rapidly through the village, burning 18 homes, including theirs. Across the UK, 70 houses were destroyed amid 600 wildfires, marking the largest housing loss from a threat previously seen as more distant. The fire ring around London exceeded London Fire Brigade experience, exhausting 142 engines and prompting urgent requests for more crews, hoses, and water that could not be met. Extreme heat also impaired firefighters, with protective suits becoming drenched and causing severe overheating.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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