They should have just went under a tree for some shade like Jeremy Clarkson said
tHe MeDiA aRe BlOwInG iT oUt Of PrOpoRtIoN.
I’m fairly sure the media didn’t set fire to those houses though.
Aren’t all fires due to heat?
It was Barry going out back for a cheeky cig so Karen wouldn’t see and flicked his nub end over the fence
Kent houses have always been snowflakes.
I follow the London Fire Brigade on twitter and sometimes you see these sad but funny posts where they’ve investigated a fire and someone left a crystal Live Love Laugh ornament in the sun and it focused the light onto a velour lazy boy.
Be careful what you leave in direct sunlight in this weather.
‘Ablaze’ is one of those words only ever used by journalists.
It’s either arson, or a discarded cigarette. Or some form of chemicals or building equipment catching fire due to the heat. I wouldnt trust anything sky news same as the BBC report.
I’ve seen my flats on sky news a few times in the last hour, with the helicopters flying over. Fires in all directions.
It’s just a nice sunny day, why can’t people enjoy themselves?
“iTs JuSt SuMmEr”
I’m sure the PM will rush back to offer words of comfort for those affected and words of support for the fire crews working to stop this.
Do they really just have a ‘live’ camera on the fucking sun?
I am from the USA, specifically in the state of North Carolina on our East Coast. I grew up here and I’ve been here my entire life. Our seasons are ‘extreme’ and the 32-40 C temps are typical of our summers (obviously it has gotten worse as the climate changes.) Almost our entire country has the luxury of air conditioning. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who doesn’t have AC. If they didn’t, it was being repaired. I visited Chatham, Kent in 2005. It was beautiful and the weather was mild. I loved it.
I am so sorry you guys are having to go through this. Extreme heat like this is absolute torture when you’re not used to it, and when you don’t have the luxury of AC to mitigate the discomfort. Heat is deadly, it’s not funny. Some of these stupid American idiots I see posting jokes about this are such embarrassments. Our own people do this to each other too. Up North here, treacherous winters are normal and to be expected. Here in NC (or like the Texas freeze we had) it’s not common and we’re not prepared. People suffer and die. People that are used to these conditions will laugh at others ‘panicking’ and it’s cruel.
You guys PLEASE stay safe. Stay hydrated. Try to use cool compresses made out of wash rags or old raggedy shirts. Stay in the shade if possible and do your best not to exert yourself. My thoughts are with everyone there. I’m so sorry 🙁
Doing a bit of googling, dry grass can auto-ignight at 300°c apparently. It appears the hot and extremely dry conditions are creating conditions for the fire to spread rapidly, and ignite from lower temperature ignition sources.
These are the kind of conditions we expect from southern Europe or Australia. Not only has it been incredibly hot but also very dry. I don’t think it has rained in London since 30 June.
Edit: Just 2 hours later.
The nearest fire station for 7 miles is in that village – in fact you can see it in the video at about the 1:50 mark…
Oh, and it isn’t Kent…
I only hope it was the homes of a “1976’er”
Aren’t all house fires due to heat? Never seen a cold house fire before
Ok cool but as a Tory I’d like to know: what are the fire’s chromosomes?
I mean the house is not on fire because it’s hot out.
Do you think the good people of Arizona sit in their homes afraid it’ll spontaneously combust?
Fires never happen when it’s cold…🙄
jUsT rElAx aNd EnJOy tHe wEaTHeR!
That’s Essex, not Kent…. In fact some of the houses affected were on a road called ‘Kent View’ because from there you can see Kent on the other side of the Thames estuary
A few weeks ago people’s houses were on fire because they were burning things inside to stay warm because of fuel and energy costs.
Now they’re on fire ‘cos it’s too hot. fml，can’t get a break.
The houses were set on fire by a grass fire which may have caught fire due to the heat. Certainly the heat dried out the grass making it flammable. The headline is misleading though.
25 comments
They should have just went under a tree for some shade like Jeremy Clarkson said
tHe MeDiA aRe BlOwInG iT oUt Of PrOpoRtIoN.
I’m fairly sure the media didn’t set fire to those houses though.
Aren’t all fires due to heat?
It was Barry going out back for a cheeky cig so Karen wouldn’t see and flicked his nub end over the fence
Kent houses have always been snowflakes.
I follow the London Fire Brigade on twitter and sometimes you see these sad but funny posts where they’ve investigated a fire and someone left a crystal Live Love Laugh ornament in the sun and it focused the light onto a velour lazy boy.
Be careful what you leave in direct sunlight in this weather.
‘Ablaze’ is one of those words only ever used by journalists.
It’s either arson, or a discarded cigarette. Or some form of chemicals or building equipment catching fire due to the heat. I wouldnt trust anything sky news same as the BBC report.
I’ve seen my flats on sky news a few times in the last hour, with the helicopters flying over. Fires in all directions.
It’s just a nice sunny day, why can’t people enjoy themselves?
“iTs JuSt SuMmEr”
I’m sure the PM will rush back to offer words of comfort for those affected and words of support for the fire crews working to stop this.
Do they really just have a ‘live’ camera on the fucking sun?
I am from the USA, specifically in the state of North Carolina on our East Coast. I grew up here and I’ve been here my entire life. Our seasons are ‘extreme’ and the 32-40 C temps are typical of our summers (obviously it has gotten worse as the climate changes.) Almost our entire country has the luxury of air conditioning. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who doesn’t have AC. If they didn’t, it was being repaired. I visited Chatham, Kent in 2005. It was beautiful and the weather was mild. I loved it.
I am so sorry you guys are having to go through this. Extreme heat like this is absolute torture when you’re not used to it, and when you don’t have the luxury of AC to mitigate the discomfort. Heat is deadly, it’s not funny. Some of these stupid American idiots I see posting jokes about this are such embarrassments. Our own people do this to each other too. Up North here, treacherous winters are normal and to be expected. Here in NC (or like the Texas freeze we had) it’s not common and we’re not prepared. People suffer and die. People that are used to these conditions will laugh at others ‘panicking’ and it’s cruel.
You guys PLEASE stay safe. Stay hydrated. Try to use cool compresses made out of wash rags or old raggedy shirts. Stay in the shade if possible and do your best not to exert yourself. My thoughts are with everyone there. I’m so sorry 🙁
Doing a bit of googling, dry grass can auto-ignight at 300°c apparently. It appears the hot and extremely dry conditions are creating conditions for the fire to spread rapidly, and ignite from lower temperature ignition sources.
These are the kind of conditions we expect from southern Europe or Australia. Not only has it been incredibly hot but also very dry. I don’t think it has rained in London since 30 June.
Edit: Just 2 hours later.
The nearest fire station for 7 miles is in that village – in fact you can see it in the video at about the 1:50 mark…
Oh, and it isn’t Kent…
I only hope it was the homes of a “1976’er”
Aren’t all house fires due to heat? Never seen a cold house fire before
Ok cool but as a Tory I’d like to know: what are the fire’s chromosomes?
I mean the house is not on fire because it’s hot out.
Do you think the good people of Arizona sit in their homes afraid it’ll spontaneously combust?
Fires never happen when it’s cold…🙄
jUsT rElAx aNd EnJOy tHe wEaTHeR!
That’s Essex, not Kent…. In fact some of the houses affected were on a road called ‘Kent View’ because from there you can see Kent on the other side of the Thames estuary
A few weeks ago people’s houses were on fire because they were burning things inside to stay warm because of fuel and energy costs.
Now they’re on fire ‘cos it’s too hot. fml，can’t get a break.
The houses were set on fire by a grass fire which may have caught fire due to the heat. Certainly the heat dried out the grass making it flammable. The headline is misleading though.