FIRE chiefs have slammed the "irresponsible" hoax callers who cost them nearly £1m last year.

Figures obtained by News Shopper under the Freedom of Information Act reveal fire crews in Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham spent the equivalent of four-and-a-half days tackling false fires last year.

The 442 hoax calls attended by the Fire Brigade in the four boroughs cost it around £862,000.

The average starting salary for a firefighter is around £25,000 meaning hoax callers are draining money which could pay for 34 new recruits.

Bexley borough commander David Whiting said: "Hoax callers could potentially put people's lives in danger.

"I'm sure there have been times we have been out at hoax calls when real fires have happened."

A study carried out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister last year revealed each hoax call costs the brigade £1,970.

Mr Whiting says his officers are stepping up their efforts to make sure they do not continue to waste time and money.

This includes going into schools, to warn children about the dangers of making crank calls to the emergency services.

Lewisham borough commander Dave Smith says its work in schools has helped it to cut the number of hoax calls by two-thirds in the past year.

His team operates a Call Challenge scheme, where phone operators are told to ask extra questions to suspected hoax callers.

They also tell the caller they believe it is a hoax and inform them the call is being recorded and could be passed onto police.

Mr Smith said: "Once you tell them that they usually hang up."

He added: "Hoax callers are totally irresponsible. They cause terrible disruption to our work."

Station commander at Downham Fire Station, Reigate Road, Downham, Roger Willmore, says most hoaxers use public phone boxes.

He added: "We only have one fire engine at Downham. We need to make people aware they are using up a potentially life-saving resource."



FAKE CALLS TAKE UP TIME AND MONEY

THE Fire Brigade says it takes 15 minutes to deal with each hoax call, while a Government study last year revealed each hoax costs the brigade £1,970.


Last year Greenwich dealth with 152 hoax calls, taking up 38 hours, at a cost of £299,440.

Bromley had 122 fake calls, taking up 30.5 hours, at a cost of £240,340.

Lewisham had 109 hoax calls, wasting 27.25 hours, at a cost of £214,730.

Bexley dealt with 62 fake calls, toattly 15.5 hours, at a cost of £122,140.