London Fire Brigade News

The matter of fire risk assessment was raised in Fire Safety Order conference organised by LFB London Fire Brigade has focussed on the need of 'competence' in fire risk assessment. Fire risk assessments are in danger as landlords are struggling to find competent assessors, it has been revealed. A fire safety manager for London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said "competence is what we need" at a conference about the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. Nick Coombe, member of LFB's...

Damage due to frozen pipes is putting a challenge before the firefighters of London Fire Brigade  London Fire Brigade firefighters attended 163 flooding incidents in the last four days of November, a massive increase on 2007 and 2008 figures of the same period. New figures revealed that flooding incidents have increased by 150 per cent in London due to frozen pipes bursting in the coldest start to a winter since records began. Firefighters attended 163 flooding inci...

With temperatures as low as -4° C the London Fire Brigade team is all set to face the climatic challenges in London With the earliest onset of cold weather in almost 20 years and temperatures set to plummet to as low as -4° C in the coming days, the firefighters of London Fire Brigade  are on high alert.  The Brigade is also gearing up for an increase in incidents from the cold weather including: Flooding caused by frozen pipesRoad traffic accide...

The London Fire Brigade has withdrawn 27 fire engines from its fleet The sudden withdrawal of fire engines has brought fire safety at stake within the city of London. FBU has strongly criticized this stand. The Fire Brigades Union condemned the London Fire Brigade for withdrawing 27 fire engines from use the day before the FBU strike ballot is due. FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said: "This is nothing but provocation. The result of our strike ballot is not even out yet, bu...

CO-Awareness week is aimed to educate people about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide detectors cost around £25 and should be approved to EN50291 standard. London Fire Brigade is backing Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness Week by urging people to invest in a carbon monoxide detector as well as a smoke alarm for their homes. The Brigade was called to 30 incidents involving carbon monoxide last year one of them a fatality and four where people had to be...

Chancellor George Osborne announced cuts in fire and rescue service spending London Fire Brigade is already demonstrating how to deliver a value for money service without compromising public safety. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, which runs the London Fire Brigade, is spearheading changes designed to ensure that the UK's fire and rescue service is fit for the 21st century. As part of his comprehensive spending review, Chancellor George Osborne announced tha...

Motorised wheeled escape ladder, one of the London Fire Brigade Museum exhibits London Fire Brigade’s museum will display the evolution of the capital’s firefighters, during its open day on Friday, 8th October 2010. From antique fire engines and Victorian uniforms, to the world’s most advanced fire equipment, London Fire Brigade’s museum is set to tell the story of the capital’s firefighters, during its open day on Friday 8th October in South...

Crews from Southall, Heathrow,Hillingdon and Heston fire stationsbattled the blaze for two and a half hrs A fire on an industrial estate on Dominion Road in Southall, London, has been attended by four fire engines and around 20 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade.Property worth thousands of pounds was destroyed as the external fascia of two industrial units was partly damaged by the inferno, which also badly razed a lorry and a three-tonne pile of waste wood on Septe...

London Fire Brigade is trying to curb fires spawned from rubbish piles Between August 2009 and August 2010 there were 8,438 rubbish fires in London. The Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) today warned that the introduction of alternate weekly rubbish collections to London could cause more fires and divert the attention of the firefighters away from other life saving work. Local authorities will experience a financial squeeze in the coming we...

The owners of The Ventuers Hotelhave been fined over £27,000  Awan Investments Ltd and Malik Mohammed Bashir were found guilty of serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution brought by the London Fire Brigade. A company that owned a Paddington hotel has been ordered to pay over £27,000 in fines and costs after being found guilty of serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution brought by the London Fire Brigade. T...

Fire safety inspectors often visit places to check whether fire safety order 2005 is properly adhered or not  Risk assessment and fire safety arrangements must be kept under review by the responsible person adhering to Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. A landlord has been ordered to pay over £16,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution brought by the London Fire Brigade. Jagjit Si...

London firefighters are demanding change in working hours According to firefighters union, the brigade's management has started issuing letters of dismissal in a bid to force firefighters to accept the new shift patterns.  London firefighters could down their tools in the near future following the Fire Brigades Union's (FBU) revelation that members overwhelmingly backed industrial action. The union has issued a notice to London Fire Brigade (LFB) that it will start to b...

The London Fire Brigade has run a course for young people coping with autism London Fire Brigade has worked closely with local autistic charities in adapting the LIFE programme for children suffering from autism. Young people with autism are working with London's firefighters to learn about fire safety and boost their confidence. Dagenham and Erith Fire Stations have recently hosted week long specially adapted Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) course for local youngst...

The Cooksafe campaign is targetedat young professionals in theLondon area  London Fire Brigade’s recent kitchen fire safety campaign “Cooksafe” included three terrible cooking ideas in a Recipes for Disaster in their booklet. Blazing beans, smokin’ sausages and boozy flambé are just three of the terrible cooking ideas included in a Recipes for Disaster booklet published as part of the London Fire Brigade’s recent kitchen fire safety c...

Fire and rescue teams across UK are facing major budget cuts Commission chairman Michael O'Higgins said it was reassuring that most areas had "robust plans" in place to cope with the loss of staff.The report was based on a study of all 46 England's local fire services. Fire services in England hit by strike action or a flu pandemic would struggle to cope with a major emergency, such as a natural disaster or a terror attack, a spending watchdog has warned.An Audit Commission st...

Solar panels in the fire stations have not only cut down the harmful carbon emissions but also the electricity bills  According to the latest reports, London Fire Brigade has smashed its own carbon reduction goals before time. A report has revealed that London Fire Brigade has smashed its own carbon reduction goals and is now setting even more challenging targets to reach before 2015, exceeding those proposed by the Mayor of London. The Brigade originally aimed to slash...

Rob Dobson warns Londoners that serious fires can also be a reality for far too many people LFB commissioner Ron Dobson wants every Eastendersfan  to follow simple safety tips to avoid fire risk. Millions of people watched the Queen Vic burn on BBC drama Eastenders on Thursday and capital’s Fire Commissioner is warning Londoners that serious fires can also be a reality for far too many people. Figures released show that 50 people died in accidental fires last year...

London Fire Brigade is launching its first ever kitchen fire safety campaign to reduce the number of kitchen fires New figures released today by London Fire Brigade show that London’s young professionals are setting fire to their kitchens in record numbers. Kitchen fires account for over 60 per cent of fires in people’s homes. In the last five years there were over 17,500 fires in London kitchens, causing over 2600 injuries and 24 deaths.Nearly one in three of...

Smoke alarms are being deniedthe opportunity to save lives  London Fire Brigade’s statistics show that in 2009, 26 people died in fires where there was no working smoke alarm. Despite the new survey revealing that we blow £13.2 billion each year on personal grooming products like hair gels, pomade and perfume, hundreds of thousands of London households still don’t want to fork out for a smoke alarm that could save our lives. Smoke alarms costing as lit...

More than 300 of London home fires yearly are a result of faulty equipment or dodgy wiring Faulty electrical items, overloaded plug sockets and dodgy wiring cause hundreds of fires across London each year. That’s why firefighters are asking people to check for electrical fire risks in their homes this Bank Holiday. New figures from the London Fire Brigade show that there are over 600 fires involving electrical appliances in the capital’s homes each year. More th...

Formal consultation process with theFBU on its future changes to start and finish times of shifts for firefighters London Fire Brigade began the process of formal consultation with the Fire Brigades Union on its proposed changes to start and finish times of shifts for London firefighters. Discussion and negotiation on the proposed changes have been going on for five years but have not yet resulted in a collective agreement. London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson has written to...

The green makeover of ten London Fire Brigade stations cuts down almost 40 percent of electrical energy consumption Some of the features fitted at the ten stations included solar panels that turn the sun’s rays into electricity, motion censored lights and energy efficient boilers. These have resulted in electrical energy consumption coming down by nearly 40 per cent.    Figures released today show that carbon emissions have plummeted by as...

The Plaistow team won the London Life Challenge competition held at the London Fire Brigade HQ The gruelling ‘London LIFE Challenge’ was held at Brigade HQ in front of over 200 spectators. Ten teams representing 13 London boroughs competed against each other in a series of gym based exercises. The capital’s youngsters have been pitting their speed, strength, teamwork and firefighting skills against each other in a borough-wide London Fire Brigade competition...

Hoax callers tamper the work of London Fire Brigade by diverting them to false fire sites Referred to by the fire service as ‘malicious false alarms’, calls range from children phoning as a bit of fun, to people of all ages who are fascinated by the emergency services or looking for attention. London Fire Brigade is now hoping parents can play a part in reducing the calls by warning children who are bored and looking for something to do, that making hoax calls is n...

Negotiations and discussions have been going on the issue of proposed firefighter shift plans Discussions and negotiation on the proposed changes have been going on for five years but have not yet resulted in a collective agreement. The London Fire Brigade has begun the process of formal consultation with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) on its proposed changes to start and finish times of shifts for London firefighters. Discussion and negotiation on the proposed changes...

Small grass fires can turn intocatastrophes if not checked in time Grass fires can be set deliberately or started accidentally. Either way they pose a huge risk to wildlife, parkland and even people's lives. The number of grass fires across London has shot up and, with the hot weather set to continue, the London Fire Brigade fears further fires. Compared to this time last year, grass fires across London are up 25%. Weather experts recently declared that last month was o...

Cadets and their trainers celebratepassing out with Commissioner Ron Dobson and Chair of LFEPA’s Cllr Susan Hall The first 20 youngsters to complete London Fire Brigade’s Community Fire Cadet Course have attended a special Passing Out Parade.  The programme was launched in Tower Hamlets and Hackney in February 2009 and to mark the end of the course the Cadets received certificates from London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson at a special ceremony at the Brigade&r...

The mural is a masterpiece which was painted by a group of 13 people belonging to different age groups A unique fire themed mural portraying the history of London Fire Brigade has been unveiled at Dowgate fire station last week. The mural, which was painted by 13 local people, was unveiled at a special event at Dowgate fire station, at which London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson presented certificates to the talented painters. The mural, which is approximately 24ft long...

LFB Deputy commissioner Steve Smith receives certificate from Justice Minister Rt Hon Crispin Blunt  London Fire Brigade has become the first fire and rescue service to employ someone through a national programme designed to rehabilitate young offenders. The Young Offender Programme led by National Grid helps prisoners get back into work on their release and aims to reduce re-offending rates. Figures show that less than 6% of people on the scheme re-offend compared to th...

New Kong Nam Food Production Company violated the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005   Fire inspectors visited the premises on Brettingham Road, Edmonton on 3 December 2008. A number of fire safety breaches were found and an enforcement notice was issued requiring Mrs Liu to remedy the faults by 9 March 2009. The manager of a food production factory has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire saf...