FIREFIGHTERS are warning hoax calls and arson attacks on bins and skips could cost lives.
Beckenham Fire Station received 66 hoax emergency calls in 2003/04 and 74 in 2004/05 an average of three every fortnight.
For around two years the station was plagued by calls to Betts Park, Anerley Road, Penge, almost every Friday night at around 11.30pm when pubs closed.
Fire crews were duty-bound to respond despite there never being a fire.
And they faced eight or nine calls a day at the beginning of the year because an individual dubbed "The Penge Arsonist" was setting bins, skips and rubbish alight.
There is only one fire engine based at Beckenham and the crew needs additional cover for real emergencies, making hoax calls all the more dangerous.
A spokesman said: "We would like to remind people to think about the seriousness of their actions because it could cost lives."
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