Police officer flees for cover as fireball erupts in east London wildfire

Neighbours fled their homes in the path of a huge wildfire just yards from where twenty houses were destroyed in a previous heatwave.

One police officer bravely trying to keep neighbours filming the blaze back fled in terror after a huge explosion erupted behind him in Rainham, east London.

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were called to the wildfire which stopped just metres from homes in Glebe Road. In 2022, 20 homes were gutted by a wildfire just yards away in Wennington.

Neighbour Stephen Kent, 49, told Metro that the police officer was urgently shouting at people to keep back. He said: ‘He had trouble controlling the traffic on his own.

‘When the explosion happened – he s*** a brick. But he didn’t admit he was scared after.’

Locals claimed the explosion could have been caused by a gas canister left on the field.

‘We were all scared the wind was taking it towards Glebe Road, so they started an evacuation,’ Stephen said.

In the chaos, one fire engine hit a parked car as it rushed to douse out the flames that destroyed a hectare of grassland.

‘That didn’t go down to well. But luckily the fireman took care of it and the worst burnt out. The smoke was the issue. It was coming thick and fast,’ Stephen said.

‘It was chaos to begin with, but once all the crew arrived we knew we were in safe hands.’

Another massive wildfire almost wiped out another row of family homes in south London after temperatures hit 33°C.

Locals in Slade Green rushed to stamp out the fire with their feet to stop the fire from spreading on Tuesday night.

Footage shows how the flames engulfed dry shrubland behind their gardens on the hottest day of the year.

A fire sparked first in the afternoon before erupting in flames for a second time on the same spot when firefighters left.

Nathan Long, 29, was getting ready for bed when he saw smoke billowing over his garden fence at 10.30pm.

He told Metro: ‘We could only use our feet and some blankets. We were terrified it would reach our houses. The flames were so hot.

‘We tried to make a fire break before it spread but we couldn’t do it quickly enough.

‘Me and my friend were doing our best before police arrived and pulled us out to safety when the fire brigade finally turned up.’

He added: ‘I’m not sure how it started it could be kids mucking about. But it came so close to disaster.’

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said: ‘We were called at 2.20pm yesterday (1 July) to reports of a fire on Whitehall Lane In Erith.

‘Firefighters attended and discovered around half a hectare of grassland, bushes and shrubland alight, which was safely extinguished. One fire engine from Erith Fire Station attended the scene.

‘Three fire engines were called at 10.51pm yesterday (1 July) to a fire in a field on Whitehall Lane in Erith. Around three hectares was alight.’

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said there had been 17 wildfires in 2025 and urged the public to call 999 as soon as they spot one.

Incident Commander Neil Guyett said of the Rainham fire: ‘Initial crews adopted aggressive firefighting tactics to ensure the fire did not spread to nearby homes.

‘They did this by dampening the perimeter of the field to create a natural fire break and their hard work and actions prevented damage to any properties.

‘This incident highlights the real challenges London faces in that so many green spaces lie close to properties.

‘After such a dry spring and the threat of further heatwaves this summer, it’s vital landowners and local authorities manage their land and create fire breaks, such as ploughing or cutting grass, to help protect communities from wildfires.’

UK temperatures skyrocketed yesterday with a temperature of 33.6°C recorded at around 11.19am in Frittenden, Kent.

The heatwave will dissipate by later this week, when showers move in across part of the country – a welcome relief.

Wildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe with Spain, Portugal, Greece and France all being issued extreme heat, wildfire and health warnings.

Several Italian regions, including Sicily and Liguria, have introduced bans on outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day.

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