Impact of heatwave

We are currently receiving a high volume of calls to our Joint Control Room.

999 Emergency call handlers for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire have dealt with an increase of over 312% calls in the 48-hour period since the heatwave began, with calls at one point being diverted to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service due to the high demand and call numbers.

Since 00.01 hours on Monday 18 July until 14.30 hours today, 999 call handlers received 906 calls for emergency assistance across the two counties. The average number of 999 calls received in a 24-hour period is 110.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Group Manager Nathan Stevens said: “While our Firefighters dealing with incidents are visible to the public, our 999 emergency control room operators often go unseen, yet do a vital job during any incident. The heatwave has caused a significant increase in the number of emergencies calls they have handled for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.”

To help with these demands, we ask that the public only ring 999 if there is a real emergency.

We urge people to continue to take caution during these conditions and stay safe when outdoors.