London Fire Brigade (LFB) has released a list of the 10 weirdest hoax calls - including a request for a Big Mac burger.
The list includes calls from one person who said their mouth was on fire after eating a hot chilli, and another who said his pants were on fire.
New figures show the LFB received 6,820 malicious hoax calls to its control centre last year and warned they could cause delays in dealing with emergencies.
Of these calls, LFB challenged 5,504 of them which were not attended by firefighters.
LFB's head of operational response, assistant commissioner Tom George, said: "This summer holiday we’re asking parents to talk to their children about why it's a bad idea to dial 999 and make hoax calls.
"Sometimes children don't understand the implications of making hoax calls or that they're wasting precious emergency service time by doing so.
"Some of the calls we receive are remarkable, people say some really bizarre things."
He added: "I understand that some have health issues or genuine phobias which may impact on how they deal with certain situations, but many of the callers are simply messing about.
"Please talk to your children about the repercussions of making hoax calls and let them know that someone could be in genuine need of help whilst they’re wasting emergency service time."
Ten weirdest hoax calls
The Brigade has released a list of the ten most bizarre calls it has received:
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Caller said he was eating a hot chilli and his mouth was on fire
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Man saying his pants are on fire
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Caller claiming there's a fire at the Statue of Liberty
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Caller complaining of a barking dog
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Woman calling to say she is scared of spiders
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Caller stating she is scared of a dead cat outside
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Person wanting a Big Mac
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Children calling because they want to see firefighters
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Caller asking for the Queen
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Caller saying he's the Prime Minister and reporting a fire at 10 Downing Street
