The fire brigade rushed to a woman’s house after a neighbour reported a fire in her living room, only to find it was the video of a yule log on TV.
Lydia Maskell, 23, turned on the video to keep her Cocker Spaniel, Romeo, comforted while she went shopping in Peacehaven, East Sussex.
But just 10 minutes after she had left the house on Wednesday, September 25, she got a notification from her video doorbell to show a fire officer and two fire engines outside.
The bizarre turn of events was captured in a hilarious video posted to TikTok showing the start of Lydia’s evening where she can be seen relaxing with a glass of wine in front of the fake flames.
The video, which raked in thousands of views and likes, then shows a firefighter explaining to Lydia through the doorbell that a neighbour had called 999 after spotting the fire through their window.
Lydia Maskell, 23, turned on the video to keep her Cocker Spaniel, Romeo, comforted while she went shopping in Peacehaven, East Sussex
The bizarre turn of events was captured in a hilarious video posted to TikTok showing the start of Lydia’s evening where she can be seen relaxing with a glass of wine in front of the fake flames
The video then shows a firefighter explaining to Lydia through the doorbell that a neighbour had called 999 after spotting the fire through their window
Lydia, who works as a software trainer, said: ‘I don’t have a lamp in the living room so I put the video of the fire on so I don’t have to sit in the dark. It makes the room nice and cosy.
‘I wanted a relaxing evening. I just wanted to chill. I went shopping for candles with my friend and left the fire on for the dog.
‘Only 10 minutes later, I got a notification from the doorbell app. When I saw the firefighters, I thought “oh s***”.
The fire brigade’s presence made Lydia worried as she had been making fajitas but she was sure she had turned the hob off before she left.
She added: ‘They said there’s a fire on the TV and a neighbour had called.
‘They’d gone into the back garden, looked through the window and seen it was on the TV.
‘It was mortifying. It’s something that would only happen to me. You couldn’t write it.’
Looking into the doorbell camera, the firefighter says: ‘There’s a fire on your television and one of your neighbours has reported it but there’s no fire. Thank you’
The neighbour was fooled by the fake flames on the TV in Lydia’s living room
The TikTok video of the false alarm has more than 73,000 views and 7,000 likes.
In the clip, the software trainer holds a glass of wine while sitting in front of the screen.
She says: ‘The vibes here are immaculate. We have the fire, we have the wine, we have the Kindle, we have the candle and my dinner is in the oven.’
Looking into the doorbell camera, the firefighter says: ‘There’s a fire on your television and one of your neighbours has reported it but there’s no fire. Thank you.’
She had been left at home after her father Gary Maskell and stepmum Emma Bridge went on holiday to Spain.
They were shocked when they logged on to their doorbell app from abroad to see two fire engines outside.
Although the fire wasn’t real this time, Gary, 41, and Emma, 44, are still planning on taking a gift around to the neighbour to thank them for looking out for the family.
Lydia said: ‘I haven’t spoken to the neighbour yet but my parents are going to take a bottle of wine over.
A number of social media users commented on Lydia’s TikTok video
‘They were on holiday so they were worried when they saw firefighters outside.
‘We are so incredibly thankful for the fire service and our neighbour for looking out for us.’
A number of social media users commented on Lydia’s TikTok video in amazement at the neighbour’s actions and to praise the fire brigade.
One said: ‘Who just calls the fire brigade and doesn’t knock on the neighbours door to let them know they’re on fire first?’
Another commented: ‘His summary was perfect, straight to the point.’
A third posted: ‘That was a plot twist I was not expecting.’
And one person, who claimed to be a firefighter, said: ‘You would honestly not believe how much this happens to us and 2 machines is standard for a house fire.’
An East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: ‘An incident in Peacehaven, at 6.49pm on September 25 was recorded as a false alarm with good intent.’
