Fire service issue warning to drunk Sheffield students and raise concerns over 10pm curfew

Fire bosses in Sheffield issued the plea after the government ordered all pubs to close at 10pm to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

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South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue chiefs fear the curfew could lead to more house parties, drinking and late night cooking.

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They are predicting an increase in call-outs to student accommodation across the city.

Station Manager John Billings, who heads up the team at Central fire station, said: “We absolutely recognise how important it is that students enjoy their time at university, especially with what’s going on in the world right now, but we want to make sure they do it safely.

“Something we’re very mindful of is that, with pubs now closing earlier to help stop the spread of Covid-19, students may be inclined to take the party back to their accommodation. We’ve no problem with this – especially given the strange times they are currently living through.

“Where we may have a problem, however, is if people start to act carelessly. From our perspective this can be extremely dangerous. Time and time again we are called to fires which have started when people have left the oven on and forgotten, or fallen asleep, due to alcohol or drugs.

“We’ve also attended lots of false alarms in the past where students have set fire alarms off for fun, or e-cigarettes and smoking have triggered smoke detection systems. Alcohol has been known to play a part in many of these cases, too.”

To reduce the risk to students, and to prevent an increase in calls, the service is urging them to get a takeaway rather than cooking whilst drunk; to be mindful of where smoke alarms are situated when vaping or smoking and not to use fire alarm call points unless there is a genuine emergency

Station manager Billings added: “We think what we’re asking is fair and simple – we’re not trying to spoil anyone’s fun and don’t believe what we’re asking will have a huge impact on any big nights in.

“What it will do, though, is keep people safe, prevent our crews having to crash any parties and stop accommodation from being damaged or destroyed by fire.”

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