Why does the Government need to send us a message telling us how fire works, asks Nana Akua

What’s that noise?

Is it the carbon monoxide detector going off? Omg... it’s the alert... OMG... I must be in imminent danger!

Are we being bombed? Are we at war? Dear God, I’d better find food and shelter.

Or maybe there's a terrorist attack close by... I’d better check my phone.

"There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that, could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks.

"Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk.

"Follow official updates and report signs of fire immediately by calling 999. Search gov.uk/alerts."

What? I don’t have a BBQ? Let me get this straight. So instead of this alert informing me to maybe move location because I am in immediate danger from some serious incident, the Government is warning me not to have a BBQ?

I wasn’t planning on one, but I thought this would be used to inform me of imminent danger, not bossing me about regarding BBQs.

Every news outlet has been warning of the dangers of the weather, so why does the Government need to send me a message telling how fire works?

I think most people who have a mobile phone will probably already know how fire works, but surely telling me not to have a BBQ is not in my view what the alert system was meant for.

Louise Haigh said: "In response to the continued risk proposed by wildfires, the government has taken the decision to issue an Emergency Alert to England and Wales.

"This is the most extensive use of the UK’s Emergency Alert system in response to an active incident, and reflects the seriousness with which the government is acting to safeguard people and property.

"During this period of extreme heat, we are asking people to take simple steps to limit the risk of further fires. By following the safety guidance, everyone can play their part in protecting local communities and supporting our frontline services who are working around the clock to keep people safe.

"During this period of extreme heat, we are asking people to take simple steps to limit the risk of further fires. By following the safety guidance, everyone can play their part in protecting local communities and supporting our frontline services who are working around the clock to keep people safe."

Oh I get it, so you can deploy the military in a heartbeat when declaring major incidents like fire, which I thought would be the job of the fire service, but actually protecting our borders which is the job of the military, you don’t appear to want to send them out in force do.

You go to Israel where these alerts are a regular occurrence, and are taken seriously because they are constantly being bombed.

But in this country, if they use them for nanny state by telling us not to have BBQs, we may end up ignoring them altogether, so they lose all impact when actually we are in serious danger, but we just carry on regardless.

We couldn't even get it right last night, the alarm kept going off on some phone at 10pm as well?

Anyone for a cup of tea?