LONDON – A London Fire Brigade tweet about a fire at a pop-up restaurant in Shoreditch has caused some controversy on Twitter.
The tweet was sent on Sunday in the wake of a fire in Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch, which caused damage to the building containing the restaurant. 35 firefighters and six engines were involved in putting out the blaze.
#Shoreditch restaurant blaze early this morning. Thankfully no hipsters were injured http://t.co/LszKAKTpbz pic.twitter.com/6cZPoYZRat— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) July 19, 2015
Despite a significant number of retweets and favourites, the tweet has divided people.
Some people found it funny.
@LondonFire great job, the hipster comment made me spit my tea out— Debbie (@plebdeb) July 19, 2015
Some less so.
@LondonFire Not funny. Not funny at all.— Jonathan Downey (@DowneyJD) July 19, 2015
It's also led to a lot of debate about the use of humour in these types of situations.
@_Meredinho I can't get my head round why they wanted to make light of it. It's a source of immense ballache for loads of people.— Killer Tomato (@eatkillertomato) July 19, 2015
@eatkillertomato because we need humour in the face of adversity. That's what makes us British. We can laugh it off.— Meredinho (@_Meredinho) July 19, 2015
While a lot of people were arguing that no people were physically harmed and the joke wasn't offensive, others thought that the humour was in bad taste because people's businesses had been damaged.
The London Fire Brigade issued the following apology later on Sunday morning.
Sorry if we caused any offence by using the term hipsters. Hope #Shoreditch businesses are back on their feet soon. http://t.co/KbwVuNPaTf— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) July 19, 2015
Which kept the debate going for a few more hours...
@LondonFire nonsense you didn't cause offence - it was a funny tweet. Obv if someone had been hurt then that would been difference.— Sofia (@Sofia) July 19, 2015
@LondonFire Have a laugh but perhaps a little later, maybe after people have gotten over the fact that their livelihoods have been destroyed— Stephen Walmsley (@sjrw) July 19, 2015
@LondonFire you can't offend hipsters. Getting offended is too mainstream— You Know Who (@mental_nigella_) July 19, 2015
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.