Beds Fire and Rescue has reminded pranksters that hoax calls can cost lives after a crew was sent to a bogus blaze in Houghton Regis on Monday morning.
Firefighters were dispatched from Dunstable to Cumbria Close after a call was received at 12.35am, but later found the report to be a malicious false alarm.
A fire service spokesperson said: “Our crews will respond to all reports of a fire...if it is bogus then they may not be available to respond to incidents where lives may be at risk.”