A fire and explosion at Dorrington Point in Bromley by Bow yesterday afternoon was attended by firefighters from four stations that are due to close. Out of the 13 fire engines that attended the fire, which was in an eleven-storey residential block: potentially six of them will be cut under the Mayor of London’s proposals to cut the London Fire Brigade.
The Mayor’s closure plans were updated last week. This means that 10 fire stations will still close with the total loss of 14 fire engines.
The stations that are now planned to close are Belsize, Bow, Clerkenwell, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich.
The stations that will still lose a fire engine are: Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel.
Local Labour London Assembly Member John Biggs said:
“I would like to praise the professionalism of the firefighters who attended the fire yesterday in Bromley by Bow. The fire was under control quickly and it is testament to the fantastic work of these firefighters that no one was hurt.
“This incident shows how important it is for us to keep open all of our fire stations. The Mayor is planning on closing Bow, Silvertown and Kingsland – all of which helped to get this fire under control. Fire engines from Leyton and Whitechapel, both of which are set to lose an appliance, also attended the fire. This fire shows how misguided the Mayor’s plans to close fire stations and get rid of fire appliances is.
“We all know that savings have to be made, but the London Fire Brigade has already saved £66million from the back office. Boris is cutting too far and all to fund his penny a day council tax cut. What would you prefer, a penny a day or a fully funded fire service that can respond to incidents more quickly?”
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