The National Farmers' Union is running a "Think Twice" campaign urging people not to release flying lanterns. Click on the picture above for the campaign leaflet.

1 January 2012

The last emergency call of 2011 to Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service and the first of 2012 were to fires caused by flying lanterns.

Firefighters from Gerrards Cross were called to a car fire in Albion Road, Chalfont St Giles, shortly before midnight. A lantern landed on the road near the car and was blown underneath it by the wind.

Forty minutes later the same crew was call to a fire in Howards Thicket, Gerrards Cross, where a lantern had become caught up in a tree.

Firefighters are now urging people to be extra careful when using these lanterns to celebrate special events.

Flying lanterns – also known as sky lanterns and Chinese lanterns – are usually made of paper, wire and bamboo and contain a lit candle. They can rise to more than 1,000 feet, fly for up to 20 minutes and float for miles before landing

Chris Bailey, head of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s community safety team, said: “You can’t control the direction they take or where they will land.

“There is no guarantee that the fuel source will be fully extinguished and cooled when the lantern lands, and that’s a real fire hazard.”

He said unsuitable locations for flying lanterns included areas near telephone and power lines, areas near standing crops, anywhere near buildings with thatched roofs, areas of dense woodland and areas of heath or bracken.

As well as being a potential fire hazard, the lanterns often contain wire which can kill or injure animals, damage farm machinery or end up in animal feed.

The lanterns have also tied up a lot of emergency service time over the years because they are sometimes mistaken for UFOs or distress flares.