HEREFORD and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has appealed to residents not to release sky lanterns for Chinese New Year tomorrow as they can lead to blazes and harm animals if they consume the debris left by them.
Also known as Chinese lanterns, they are a serious fire risk as whoever lets them off cannot know where they will land and who or what will be there.
As well as the serious risk of causing a fire, there are also other risks to crops, vehicles, livestock and the environment.
Additionally, there have been numerous safety risks to aircraft, with debris posing a risk to taxiing aircraft and causing delays to take-off and landing.
Sky lanterns are illegal in Germany but in 2020 they caused a serious fire at a zoo in Krefeld where dozens of animals, including 30 primates in the monkey house, died.
Anyone wanting fire safety advice can call 0800 032 1155, and speak to a HWFRS expert for help and guidance or visit hwfire.org.uk/safety-and-advice
Residents wanting guidance on safety when celebrating, can visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-when-celebrating or https://firekills.campaign.gov.uk/ .
A HWFRS spokesperson said: “Have a wonderful but safe Chinese New Year celebration.”
