LONDON FIRE JOURNAL

COVENT GARDEN

2012-02-11T19:33:00.004Z

March 5, 1856 - Fire destroyed the Covent Garden Theatre in London. A bystander reported: "The flames had burst through the roof, throwing high up into the air columns of fire, which threw into bright reflection every tower and spire within the circuit of the metropolis, illuminating St. Paul’s as if gilded with burnished gold."

ARCHWAY

2012-02-11T19:26:00.003Z

Photo: Nat Bocking
July 21, 2004 - Decontamination after chemical spill at Archway roundabout

SHOREDITCH SHOUT

2012-02-11T19:15:00.003Z

Photo: Stephen McKay
March 11, 2010 - View from City Road of fire on Worship Street.

READER INQUIRY

2012-02-11T17:41:00.015Z

"It could have been me in that fire with him that night ..."

A reader is seeking information on a relative who died in the 1980 Soho club fire.

The reader's relative immigrated to the U.K. from Colombia.

Please contact Fire Journal editor.

Early on Aug. 15, 1980, a customer ejected from the South American Club and Spanish Club returned with a can of gasoline, setting a blaze that killed 37 people - one of the deadliest incidents since the Blitz.

FAST EDDIE

2012-02-10T16:21:00.007Z

Photo: Green County, Missouri, jail

A former London firefighter wanted in a 1993 bank heist in Suffolk was arrested Feb. 9, 2012, in the U.S. state of Missouri on firearms charges. Edward "Fast Eddie" John Maher, 56, had been living under his brother's name since the $1.5 million robbery from a bank van. Maher was a member of the London Fire Brigade for 12 years and served as sub-officer at the Euston station in central London. He resigned in 1991, according to Fire Engineering magazine's website.

MYSTERY SOLVED

2012-01-17T03:12:00.019Z

Only in the Fire Journal!

A reader is Canada recently asked the London Fire Journal for assistance in locating information on London firefighter George Frederick Garley, pictured above, who served at the Cannon Street station in 1924.

Many thanks to a reader in the U.K. who provided this information:

"G F Garley was awarded his LFB LSGC medal in April 1936, this means he would have joined the brigade in about 1921.In 1931 he was serving at Holloway, moving at some point to Stoke Newington where he received his medal in 1936. He was still there in Sept 1940 so he is certainly a "blitz" fireman."

UPDATED: Feb. 11, 2012

SOUTHWARK - 1930s

2011-12-01T22:00:00.007Z

"POWERFUL JETS OF WATER discharged from many hoses were played on a big fire in an oils and colours warehouse at Southwark, London, from extended ladders and other vantage points. Often there is no building opposite from which water can be directed into a blaze, and then the use of extended ladders is all-important."

For more visit: Mike's Engineering Wonders

WIMBLEDON - 1930s

2011-12-01T21:43:00.009Z

"THE POWERFUL MOTOR EXTENDING LADDER used by the Wimbledon (London) Fire Brigade is made entirely of steel, and extends to a height of 70 feet. The ladder is fixed to a turntable mounted on a chassis and operated by power from the motor. Hand levers control the gears for raising, extending, lowering and revolving the ladder."

For more visit: Mike's Engineering Wonders

FIRE SAFETY

2011-12-01T21:30:00.012Z

Press Release - November 2011

London Fire Brigade has swooped to close a number of commercial buildings being used as living accommodation after uncovering some of the worst fire risks safety officers have ever seen.

Fire safety inspectors in Wembley have issued six “prohibition notices” on separate buildings being used as living accommodation on an industrial estate in the Alperton area. So far approximately 150 people have been found living in six premises.

The Brigade was alerted to the problem following a fire in an office block on Mount Pleasant at the end of October where firefighters rescued six people. A subsequent inspection of the building revealed seventeen rooms with over 50 people living in them. Fire safety officers found virtually no fire safety features inside, such as fire protection between different floors, and extremely limited means of escape. Inspectors say that a more fire serious fire could easily have ripped through the entire building and residents would have struggled to escape.

Investigations into who owned the property led officers to another building on nearby Beresford Avenue. When they visited the offices, above a garage, on 9 November, they found similar potentially lethal conditions providing housing for 21 people, including three children.

The Brigade was then alerted to four more properties in the area housing a total of around 80 people.

FIRE JOURNAL GROUP

2011-11-24T20:01:00.009Z

London, England - Denver, Colorado - Arlington, Virginia
Paterson, New Jersey - Springfield, Ohio

FIRE KILLS 6

2011-10-21T13:09:00.020Z

Photo: Sky News

On Sept. 24, 2011, six members of the Kua family died in a house fire in Neasden, northwest London.

The fire apparently started in a freezer.

"Flames were belting out the front two windows," neighbor Joe Lyons told Sky News.

Glen Gorman, a London Fire Brigade station manager, said: "Firefighters were faced with very intense heat and smoke. It was a very difficult situation to deal with.

The blaze was London's deadlist house fire in more than a decade, the BBC said.

In the aftermath, the London Fire Brigade launched "a fire safety blitz" to warn of household hazards.

In 2009, a fire at the Lakanal House apartment block in south London also claimed six lives in 2009.

INCIDENT REPORT

00:50
G28 WILLESDEN
6 PUMP FATAL FIRE
155184111
SONIA GARDENS, NEASDEN, LONDON.

Semi detached house of 2 floors, 8 metres by 8 metres, 70% of ground floor and 70% of 1st floor damaged by fire, 2 x 45mm jets, hosereel, breathing apparatus, thermal image camera, immediate emergency care pack, 1 adult, 1 infant and 3 children found on 1st floor apparently dead, 1 child rescued by breathing apparatus crew from 1st floor via internal staircase, subsequently confirmed dead by HEMS doctor, 1 female adult suffering from burns and smoke inhalation rescued by breathing apparatus crew from 1st floor via internal staircase removed, 1 male adult escaped before arrival of brigade suffering from burns and smoke inhalation removed, all persons accounted for.

RIOTS - 2011

2011-08-09T14:58:00.030Z

Photo: BBC

UPDATED OCTOBER 2011

In early August 2011, the London Fire Brigade contended with rioting that started in Tottenham and spread across the city.

"Firefighters are either fighting or trying to get to a number of fires across the capital," the fire brigade said Aug. 8. "Fires involve commercial and residential buildings, cars and rubbish bins."

Violence was reported in Hackney, Lewisham, Peckham, Croydon, Brixton, Enfield Town, Walthamstow, Newham and Southwark in the aftermath of a police shooting.

Fire crews "were threatened as they tried to put out fires," the Press Association reported.

Rioters damaged fire engines from Brixton, West Norwood and Edmonton, according to the fire brigade.

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to restore order and recalled Parliament in response to "sickening scenes" in London and other cities, the BBC said.

However, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone attributed the violence to government economic policy and spending reductions:

"As when Margaret Thatcher imposed such policies during her recessions this creates the threat of people losing control, acting in completely unacceptable ways that threaten everyone, and culminating in events of the type we saw in Tottenham."

Livingstone was quoted by the Socialist newspaper, The Morning Star.

MAJOR FIRES IN LONDON
Night of Aug. 8-9

Barking and Dagenham
1 X Six Pump Fire @ 23:12

Croydon
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 20:35
1 X Ten Pump Fire @ 20:54 (Reeves Corner)
[SITUATION REPORT @ 0700: "Shop of 2 floors 30 metres by 30 metres, 100 percent alight. All persons not yet accounted for. Crews unable to make search due to intensity of fire. Breathing apparatus, 3 jets in use"]
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 23:44
1 X Six Pump Fire @ 04:13

Ealing
1 X Six Pump Fire @ 23:18

Enfield
1 X Eleven Pump Fire @ 23:49
[SITUATION REPORT @ 0700: "Single storey warehouse, 150 metres by 75 metres, 100 percent alight. 2 jets, 5 ground monitors, 2 aerial monitors in use, steady progress being made. "]

Greenwich
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 22:13
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 00:04

Merton
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 22:12

Southwark
1 X Four Pump Fire @ 03:07

Wandsworth
1 X Eight Pump Fire @ 00:07

'MINDLESS THUGGERY'

2011-08-08T16:47:00.033Z

Photos: BBC

A London furniture store that stood for more than 100 years was destroyed in the August 2011 riots, according to the Daily Mirror.

Croydon family business Reeves - which stood on Reeves Corner, named for the shop - was torched as the violence spread.

Owner Trevor Reeves told Sky News: "Words fail me. It's just gone, it's five generations. My father is distraught at the moment. It's just mindless thuggery."

INJURED FIREMEN

2011-02-24T17:48:00.005Z

Photo from archives of Daily Mirror showing London firefighters being treated at Westminster Hospital during the Blitz. The photo is dated March 1, 1941. Members of the fire service suffered eye injuries caused by embers and debris.

KEW GARDENS - 1913

2011-02-11T14:34:00.009Z

In 1913, the Tea House at Kew Gardens in London was set alight by suffragettes Olive Wharry and Lilian Lenton. The suffragettes were responsible for a series of blazes across London meant to protest government policy.

GARDINER'S CORNER

2011-02-10T17:51:00.018Z

In better days - 1906

The end - 1972

DEATH OF LONDON LANDMARK: Clothing store Gardiner gave its name to the junction Gardiner's Corner, which brought together the main thoroughfares of East London. In 1972, fire gutted the century-old building and caused the clock tower to collapse. The business had closed the year before the fire.

STEPNEY - 1911

2011-02-10T13:42:00.026Z

Scenes of the "Battle of Stepney" on Sidney Street, East London, on Jan. 2, 1911. The gunfight and fire led to the death of two "anarchists" suspected in the Houndsditch Murders of three police officers. The siege also claimed the life of a London fireman - Superintendent Charles Pearson - who sustained injuries when a wall collapsed. He died several months later. The incident sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.

ROW RESOLVED

2010-12-22T22:12:00.002Z

From the BBC

A row between firefighters and London Fire Brigade over duty hours has been resolved with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) accepting a new shift pattern.

Members of the FBU voted in favour of the 10.5-hour day shifts and 13.5-hour night shifts instead of the current nine-hour days and 15-hour nights.

The FBU said it was pleased at the "sensible compromise".

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said the the ballot would bring the "long-standing dispute to an end".

Since October, about 5,500 firefighters staged two eight-hour strikes and called off plans to walk-out on the Bonfire Night in November at the last minute.

Union members backed the new shift pattern by 2,670 votes to 510.

Ian Lehair, the FBU's executive member for London, said: "This was always our objective. I wish it could have been achieved without the foolishly dramatic threat to sack all London firefighters, which led to two one-day strikes."

Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Councillor Brian Coleman, said the ballot demonstrated that the "strikes were completely unnecessary and should never have happened in the first place".

London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, added that he was "really pleased with the outcome of the ballot".

NOVEMBER STRIKE

2010-11-01T19:24:00.059Z

Photo: London SE1 community web site

"The London Fire Brigade's Southwark training centre is the nerve centre for the private emergency fire service protecting the capital during the latest strike by members of the Fire Brigades' Union," according to the London SE1 community web site. Security has been increased at the training facility.

London's firefighters held a second walkout on Nov. 1, 2010, and the industrial action resulted in injuries to two striking firefighters and a union official.

The dispute is over the fire authority's efforts to force a new contract on members of the Fire Brigades Union. Firefighters who decline to sign the new contract, which would impose a new shift pattern, face dismissal.

Minimal protection was again provided by 162 temporary firefighters employed by AssetCo. during the 8-hour work stoppage. The contract crews staffed 27 engines after undergoing a 12-day course on basic tactics.

There are no special units - i.e., turntable ladders or rescues - "on the run" during a walkout.

The London Fire Brigade normally fields about 170 engines and other appliances, and regular firefighters undergo a 16-week basic training course at Southwark followed by three years of probation.

[London firefighters had also planned to strike between Nov. 5 and Nov. 7 to coincide with the Bonfire Night holiday and the Hindu festival of Diwali - both of which feature incendiaries - but that action was shelved.]

During the national fire strike in 2002, the military deployed about 90 "Green Goddess" engines to protect Greater London alone, according to BBC statistics. LINK

The BBC reported: "Private contractors responded to 20 callouts, including eight fires, between 1000 and 1800 GMT on Monday."

A London Fire Brigade press release said: "Lessons learned from the first strike have enabled deployment and management of the emergency fire crews to be achieved more efficiently than last time."

However, "the service provided by the contractor is not intended to replicate or replace the Brigade’s operational cover arrangements and a reduced level of firefighting services will be provided," according to the fire brigade's web site.

Injuries

Injuries on the picket lines marred the day.

The Daily Mail reported: "A striking fireman was hospitalised today after he was hit by a car that was apparently breaking a picket line outside a fire station." The car was following a fire engine, staffed by a contract crew, into the Croydon Fire Station, the Daily Mail said.

News reports identified the driver of the car as a fire brigade manager.

In another incident, "A stand-in firefighter was driving a fire engine back into the brigade's Southwark training centre when it collided with Fire Brigades Union official Ian Leahair, sending him crashing to the ground," according to the Evening Standard.

At Dagenham station, a striker suffered a sprained hand after he was struck by a fire engine, according to a Fire Brigades Union press release.

The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, said: "It looks as though the private company hired to do our work has instructed its drivers to drive fast through picket lines. We ended the day in the extraordinary situation where the police had to protect striking firefighters from recklessly speeding vehicles, which were driven by those paid to break the strike."

According to the Evening Standard:

"AssetCo, based in South Ruislip, draws many of its recruits from the Uxbridge-based Reliance Security Group, which provides security guards for shopping centres and to transport prisoners to and from courts. The temporary crews were sent on a course in Lincolnshire, where they were taught basic techniques in firefighting and dealing with road accidents."

The temporary firefighters are paid about 20 pounds per hour by AssetCo., which also has a contract to maintain the fire brigade's fleet of vehicles, according to the Evening Standard.

A contract firefighter quoted by the Daily Express said: “There’s the potential for somebody to lose their life. I don’t understand why we couldn’t have had more training."

COMMENTARY

2010-10-27T18:24:00.018Z

From The Independent newspaper:

"You may not have heard of AssetCo, a small, but growing British company that specialises in fighting fires. That may quickly change if you have the misfortune to find yourself among the thousands of Londoners who get into a spot of bother on Bonfire Night. Not only does AssetCo provide equipment to the London fire brigade, it also supplies firefighters in the event that the regular ones are unable to perform their duties, perhaps because of a major catastrophe, perhaps because of something else... such as a strike.

"Hence the Bonfire Night problem. With 5 November being the brigade's busiest night (and this year there is Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, to contend with, too), most people have some sympathy with the men and women who fight fires, which is a dangerous job and a very real life-saver. But in holding a strike on Bonfire Night, their union is playing a dangerous game because that sympathy is likely to be stretched, possibly to breaking point. The Bonfire Night action is using the Bob Crow technique: that is, carefully timing your strike to cause the maximum disruption, discomfort or, in this case, fear to the public, most of whom probably haven't heard about AssetCo and, being unlikely to have experienced its services, will probably be a mite nervous about calling upon its people, however good AssetCo happens to be at the job.

"The problem with the firemen's use of the Crow tactic is that it is the sort of thing that could easily backfire, prodding the Government into picking a fight with unions generally. What better way to divert attention from the pain of the Chancellor's cuts than getting into a war with those nasty union barons. That sort of war that could lead to a company such as AssetCo filling its order book rather quickly. It won't have escaped anyone's attention that assorted Conservative ministers have been busy hobnobbing with the CBI, which has been calling loudly for a string of stringent new restrictions on unions and their ability to strike. "

OCTOBER STRIKE

2010-10-25T12:59:00.026Z

Striking firefighters block contract fire crew.

From Evening Standard

A family whose house was engulfed in flames during the October 2010 firefighters' strike claimed they received a “farcical” response from a stand-in crew.

Evridiki and Hippokratis Spanos made six 999 calls as smoke poured from their roof but had to wait about 20 minutes for privately-hired firefighters to arrive. A crew should normally arrive within six minutes.

Mrs Spanos said the stand-ins — hired by the London fire brigade to provide cover during an eight-hour strike — took a further 20 minutes to connect hoses to a street hydrant.

When they did begin to tackle the electrical fire at their terrace home in Enfield, she claimed, they were unable to direct the water jets on target.

“One stood at the front of the house and another at the back, but the two water arcs missed the fire completely,” said the department store worker, 49.

“They were going over the top of each other, over the roof, not hitting the spot. It was a complete farce. All we could do was stand outside, panicking because the fire was getting worse.”
Brigade sources today said the temporary crew were taunted and heckled as “scabs” throughout by people believed to be striking firefighters.

The brigade denied the response was farcical, saying water was deliberately sprayed over the flames to dampen the fire. An investigation into the blaze was under way today.

The Spanos family face a repair bill of thousands of pounds and lost many irreplaceable items. Their home is so badly damaged that the couple and their teenage son and daughter have temporarily had to move in with Mrs Spanos's sister in Leyton.

When the strike finished — 90 minutes after Mrs Spanos saw the smoke — crews from Enfield and Chingford arrived and extinguished the fire using a cherry-picker. The house's top floor and roof were virtually destroyed.

The call-out was one of 49 attended by 162 temporary crews, provided by contractor AssetCo, during the London Fire Brigades' Union action. Up to 27 fire engines were available but were not operated from fire stations — many of them barricaded — to avoid greater hostility from striking firefighters.

About 200 protesters gathered at the brigade's Southwark training centre on Saturday evening to give the temporary workers a “welcome committee” as they completed their shifts.

The FBU is protesting at plans to sack all 5,500 firefighters and re-employ them on new shift patterns.

Regional secretary Joe MacVeigh said: “Saturday was a relatively quiet day and it was by the grace of God that tragedy was avoided.”

From Socialist Worker

Striking London firefighters scored a huge victory against management's scabbing operation today (Saturday). Militant mass pickets all but destroyed bosses' operation to break the strike.

And, in a glimpse of what coordinated action could mean, many London tube workers refused to work on safety grounds during the strike, shutting down the entire Jubilee line for much of the day and causing major problems on other lines.

The strikers in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), walked out for eight hours from 10am this morning. They had voted by 79 percent to strikes over a management order to either sign new contracts with shifts that would put fire cover at risk, or face the sack.

The bosses bought in a scab fire force from private firm AssetCo to try to break the firefighters' strike.

But the scabs were kept out of all the capital's fire stations by mass pickets, including up to 400 in Poplar, where the picket was joined by firefighters who'd come from across Kent to support them, and 200 in Dagenham, with a big delegation from Essex FBU.

Graham Beers, FBU rep for Dagenham, told Socialist Worker, "It was great to see the big groups turn up from Essex—the strikers walked out this morning to a big round of applause.

"This is the first time I've ever been on strike. Members of the public have come with boxes of chocolates and things like that. The support we've had has been incredible."

There were also reports of pickets of as many as 50 firefighters at Homerton, Woodford Green and Shoreditch in east London and Kensington in west London, boosted by large groups of off-duty firefighters, and many more stations where pickets were much bigger than expected.

Delegations of firefighters also joined today's anti-cuts protest in central London. There, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack told the crowd, "AssetCo's scabs have not got into a single fire station today.

And he added, "I have reports that two of the 27 fire engines they're using have already crashed."

Firefighters listening in on the brigade's radios told Socialist Worker that one scab fire engine drove into a wall, while another managed to crash into a lamp post. Ironically, fire bosses have previously admitted that the scabs can't cover traffic accidents.

In the morning, most scabs didn't even dare show their faces at fire stations—and the few who did were quickly driven away.

The scabs were forced to find somewhere else to lurk until they got orders over the fire engines' radios.

In Leytonstone and Dagenham, they were found hiding out in Tesco car parks.

Graham, the Dagenham rep, said, "When we found out they were in the car park, we sent a greeting party to go and see them and tell them what they're doing is wrong."

At several other stations groups of firefighters set off in their cars to track scab fire engines that drove past.

In Poplar the pickets ran down the road after the scab engine, waving a huge FBU banner.

And in Kensington they twice managed to stop fire engines and confront the scab crews inside. After the second time, the scabs said they were giving up and taking the fire engine off duty.

Union activists believe that by 3pm there were as few as 11 of the scab crews left working, trying to cover the whole of London—and failing.

London Fire Brigade Press Release

The London Fire Brigade can report that despite repeated incidents of harassment, intimidation and violence against emergency fire crews the plan to provide a contingency fire and rescue service in the capital during the eight hour FBU strike today has been successful.

All 162 ‘contracted’ firefighters were deployed by 9.00 a.m. and 27 fire engines have throughout the day responded to 49 incidents including several fires in residential buildings all of which were successfully dealt with.

During the day fire crews:

Experienced a hit and run with three motorbikes on one fire engine that has left the vehicle damaged.

Were followed and threatened on all 27 fire engines deployed across the capital.

Faced barricades across at least one station entrance preventing fire engines from getting in and out.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said:

“I would rather the FBU had not orchestrated today’s strike, but the contract, which was of course never designed to fully replicate the service delivered to London, has delivered.

“The most disappointing aspect of the day has been that the people responding to calls, because of this strike, have had to suffer abuse, violence and harassment as they tried to access fire stations or attend incidents.

“Despite the mindless actions which posed a real danger to Londoners, the emergency fire crew delivered the plans to keep the capital safe. However, Londoners should never have been put at risk by the actions of a minority of individuals hell-bent on causing disruption.”

Several incidents were reported to the police, and the Brigade will be reviewing how further strike dates can be managed.

Fire Brigades Union Press Release

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said this evening:

“Today London’s 5,600 firefighters did the last thing they wanted to do. They went on strike for eight hours, leaving the capital without their expertise.

“It was an orderly, disciplined but solid strike. Eight out of 10 of them voted in the ballot, and of those, eight out of ten voted in favour of the strike. All of them supported it on the day.

“This wasn’t a fight we sought or wanted. London Fire Brigade wants changes in shift patterns; we are willing to negotiate changes. But we do expect to negotiate them; we won’t have them imposed on us by the threat of sacking all our members. That’s what LFB tried to do. Everything changed on August 11, when LFB sent out letters starting the process of dismissing all our members.

“One thing marred the day. London firefighters will be saddened that their chief fire officer, Ron Dobson, chose to come out with a series of unfounded accusations of violence against the men and women who work for him and for London.

“I’m going to appeal publicly to Ron Dobson at the end of this strike. You and I know that London firefighters are dedicated, brave and skilful public servants. Stop trying to tell the public a different story, and stop trying to bully them. Withdraw the sacking notices, then we’ll withdraw the second strike planned for November 1, and let’s sit down together and sort out shift patterns.”

Questions and answers from BBC

So, what's the strike about?

London Fire Brigade is proposing to change the start and finish times of duty for frontline firefighters.

What does that involve?

The brigade wants to cut the current 15 hour night shift to 12 hours and increase the current nine hour day shift to 12 hours. Firefighters would continue to work two day shifts followed by two night shifts and then have four days off. As a compromise the brigade has also suggested an 11 hour day and a 13 hour night.

What does the FBU say?

It fears that if firefighters don't accept the changes to their contracts they will be sacked and that by accepting the changes the door would be open to more "detrimental" changes to their working practices.

Why does the brigade want to change firefighters' hours?

It says current start and finish times have been the same for 31 years but the work it does now has changed dramatically - they don't just fight fires.

How long have negotiations between the brigade and the FBU been going on?

Five years.

Will staff be sacked?

The brigade says that if agreement is not reached following the consultation a decision will be made on whether to give notice to staff to terminate existing contracts and off re-engagement on new start and finish times.

So, if staff don't sign the new contract they will be sacked?

Yes they will be dismissed if the brigade terminates the existing contracts of employment and staff don't sign up to the new agreement.

Would staff get redundancy?

No. The jobs would still exist.

What is the contingency plan during the strike?

London Fire Brigade has a legal duty to provide a fire and rescue service at all times. It can no longer rely on the military's 'green goddesses' so it is contracting a private company.

AssetCo web site

In July 2009, AssetCo was awarded a 7-year contract to provide the London Fire Brigade with up to 700 staff, trained to provide a support firefighting service. This is the first major contract of its nature to be outsourced by a UK Fire and Rescue Service, and was awarded to AssetCo following a competitive tendering process.

Our reserve firefighters were recruited and fully trained to provide contingency to London Fire Brigade in the event of extreme situations such as pandemic illness or flooding.

Our crews are available for immediate deployment with crew competency maintained through continuous professional development.

OFF THE RUN

2010-10-06T12:22:00.017Z

On Oct. 6, 2010, the Evening Standard reported the London Fire Brigade was "in meltdown" after a union action took almost 100 engines off the run.

The newspaper said:

"A confidential memo passed to the Evening Standard claims that 91 of 169 engines were out of service on 114 occasions on Monday, some for almost 11 hours at a time, due to staff shortages or mechanical defects."

Members of the Fire Brigades Union are "working to rule" in a dispute over new shift patterns.

On Oct. 1, the West End EXTRA reported: "Fire crews from Knightsbridge had to battle their way through West End traffic to fight a serious blaze in Great Portland Street" because the Euston station didn't have the required staffing.

A firefighter from the Euston station said: "Because of the dispute, we didn’t have the cover we needed at Euston to go out and tackle this blaze."

In an Oct. 6 dispatch, The Press Association reported Deputy Fire Commissioner Rita Dexter said: "The current work to rule action is causing some disruption, caused by temporary unavailability of staff and vehicles as we move them around to ensure cover."

70 YEARS AGO

2010-09-08T17:54:00.009Z

London burning

September marks the 70th anniversary of The Blitz.

Writing in the Sept. 7, 2010 edition of The Guardian newspaper, Francis Beckett - author of the book "Firefighters and The Blitz" - said the fire service was "about the only thing the government had got right" in the buildup to the war.

In March 1938, the government created the Auxiliary Fire Service.

In London alone, the AFS recruited 28,000 auxiliary full- and part-time firefighters to supplement the professional fire crews , and they performed with great courage and determination as German bombs fell.

However, "the AFS might easily have failed," Beckett wrote.

"Professional firefighters resented it, while AFS people grumbled that they were paid less and their conditions of service were inferior. The situation was saved by an alliance between London Fire Brigade chief Major Frank Jackson and the leftwing leader of the Fire Brigades Union, John Horner, who collaborated in persuading regular firefighters to accept the AFS as equals."

AT THE READY

2010-08-19T12:37:00.004Z

Old Bishopsgate Fire Station, Built 1884

HOSE DRILL

2010-08-19T12:34:00.001Z

1937 MODEL

2010-08-18T20:53:00.012Z

"LCC Fire Engine, c.1937 - very rare example comprising a large wooden model of the Limousine style Fire Engines from the contemporary LCC London Fire Brigade. With a red pressed steel bonnet, wooden body, with bare metal Bedford style radiator grille and wheels, removable wooden ladder and hose, bell to cab interior - beautifully done. 46cm long."

From http://www.triang.nl/

UNION VOTE

2010-08-18T20:30:00.009Z

Aug. 17, 2010

Bosses threaten to sack London firefighters

By Tom Walker
Of the Socialist Worker

Firefighters in London are set to ballot for industrial action over management’s threat to sack them all.

London fire commissioner Rob Dobson sent a letter to the workers’ FBU union on Wednesday of last week to begin a 90-day “consultation period” on the plans.

It means that London’s 4,000 firefighters face mass dismissal as part of a scheme to tear up contracts and impose new shifts.

The proposal is to take three hours from night shifts and move them to the daytime shifts.

But the union says this will leave London without enough fire cover at night—and create childcare chaos for firefighters.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said the threat is the kind of thing workers “would expect from Victorian mill owners”.

“We will fight this disgraceful attack every step of the way,” he added.

Firefighters are set to ballot for industrial action short of a strike in the first instance.

And there is a growing mood for full strike action if bosses don’t back down. The union is now holding mass meetings around London.

Battle

Both sides have been building up to this battle for months—even years.

The Tory-controlled fire authority, run by notorious Barnet Tory councillor Brian Coleman, is spoiling for a fight with the union. It is using the economic crisis as an excuse.

But the bosses are clearly nervous.

They waited an extra two weeks before issuing the formal sacking threats after the union made clear its plan to ballot.

Up to 500 firefighters held a noisy protest outside a fire authority meeting in June.

The meeting discussed the plans to attack firefighters while also approving a hefty pay rise for Coleman.

Some 98 percent of London FBU members have already voted against the shift plans in a consultative ballot earlier this year.

And London firefighters took action short of a strike last year over conditions of service—and won.

Leaked

In the run up to that dispute it was revealed that London fire bosses signed a £9 million five-year deal with private firm AssetCo to provide strikebreaking “cover” if workers walk out.

These rent-a-scabs would be put to work with just a few weeks’ training—nothing compared to the years of training and experience that real firefighters have.

FBU regional official Paul Embery called the privateers a “ragbag collection of blacklegs”.

Meanwhile, documents leaked in March prove that the shift plans mean cuts to night time fire cover.

They show the changes would give “a capability to withdraw personnel from night shift” and “the removal of ten appliances [fire engines]”.

The scene is set for a huge battle over this most vital of public services.

London is the largest and highest-profile fire brigade in the country.

It could be a national focus for the fightback against Tory cuts. If London strikes, the FBU should recall its annual conference—and ballot for national strike action in its support.

BOTTOM UP

2010-08-18T20:13:00.003Z

On Aug. 17, 2010, the fire brigade extricated a burglary suspect who was too wide to fit through a window in East London, according to the Evening Standard.

MOVING IN

2010-08-03T13:24:00.004Z

A pair of firefighters moving in to fight flames after German attack on London during World War II. Firefighter closest to bus is carrying spool of hose. Air raid warden stands to left in helmet and business suit.

AERIAL ATTACK

2010-08-03T12:45:00.002Z

Photo: AssetCo web site

Aerial platform attacks fire near London Eye (in background)

WANDSWORTH - 2010

2010-08-03T12:00:00.002Z

Photo: BBC web site
On Aug. 1, 2010, London firefighters rescued two people from a six-pump fire at Sudbury House on Wandsworth High Street.

GENERAL STRIKE

2010-07-26T13:02:00.004Z

Bus set alight in London during the General Strike of 1926. The 10-day industrial action was called by the Trade Union Congress. The armed forces and civilian volunteers attempted to maintain basic services, such as public transit.

1891 INFERNO

2010-07-23T15:27:00.003Z

Major fire on Queen Victoria Street in 1891.

THE CITY - 1940

2010-07-22T15:37:00.006Z

Photo: City of London
Firefighters and Auxiliary Fire Service trailer pump at "emergency dam" at Aldermanbury after a German air raid on the City of London on Dec. 29, 1940. The trailer pump is numbered for Auxiliary Fire Service sub-station 55X.

CLAPHAM - 2010

2010-07-22T12:57:00.003Z

On July 5, 2010, London firefighters rescued several people - including these women standing on the window ledge - from a fire in a commercial building in Clapham. Most of those rescued suffered from smoke inhalation.

EUSTON - 1973

2010-07-14T20:53:00.006Z

Photo: BBC
On Sept. 10, 1973, the Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb at the Euston railway station in central London. About an hour earlier, a bomb exploded at the King's Cross station. Thirteen people were injured between the two blasts.

CLASSIC PUMP

2010-07-13T21:01:00.002Z

London Fire Brigade pump, circa 1935

CITY ABLAZE

2010-07-13T20:58:00.004Z

BABY RESCUE - 2010

2010-07-13T13:25:00.011Z

Photo: Television footage from Daily Mail

On July 12, 2010, a passerby rescued a baby from a fire that engulfed the top floors of a 16-story apartment building in Southwest London, according to the BBC and the Evening Standard. More than 100 firefighters attended the 20-pump incident at Madingley, Saint Peters Road, Kingston. There were no serious injuries. The fire was the second 20-pump incident in three days for the London Fire Brigade.

PLANES & TRAINS

2010-07-13T12:18:00.014Z

Photos: ITN & BBC web sites
On July 9, 2010, a fire destroyed a warehouse at Heathrow Airport (first photo). More than 100 firefighters attended the 20-pump incident. Four aerial ladders and other special units were also called to the scene. The evening before, an 8-pump fire that started in a Burger King forced the evacuation of 2,000 railway and underground passengers from the Liverpool Street train station (second photo).

GREYS

2010-07-01T17:07:00.006Z

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR WIDER VIEW

100 YEARS

2010-06-02T15:26:00.004Z

From London Fire Brigade press release

Charlie Harwood, who served as a firefighter in Tooting during World War Two, visited Tooting Fire Station to celebrate his 100th birthday with firefighters from the station’s green watch in March 2010.

Charlie was presented with a commemorative firefighter’s axe by green watch’s youngest firefighter, Mark Whittall. Children from the local Henry Cavendish primary school also presented Charlie with a bunch of flowers and excerpts from Charlie’s war-time memoires were read out.

Bill Thorne, green watch manager, said: “It was an absolute honour to invite Charlie to the station. It was a fantastic opportunity for the firefighters to meet him and hear about his experiences of firefighting during the War. Charlie is a real life hero”.

Charlie, who reached his 100th birthday on March 6th, was born in Vauxhall and spent his early life in Balham. He enlisted with the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1939. On the Friday before the War was declared Charlie was asked to report to his local fire station, along with all the other civil defence and fire brigade personnel. He said: ”I went home from work, had my tea, said goodbye to my wife and reported to Tooting Fire Station”.

Charlie spent the war years fighting fires in London, attending many of the major blazes and incidents, including those during the Blitz.

Charlie remembers his first ‘shout’ was a huge blaze caused by bombing at Woolwich Arsenal. He said: “I thought I was driving into hell, there was fire everywhere you looked, it was awful. After a while we drove back to Tooting. As we looked back towards the docks it looked as if the whole of London, particularly the docks, was on fire”.

Charlie recalls a particularly tragic incident during his time as a firefighter: “We were called to Henry Cavendish school, which was being used as a fire brigade sub-station. On arrival we found 12 firemen and one firewoman had been killed by a bomb falling on their mess hut as they sat to eat. It was our job to retrieve the bodies. I had lived in this area all my life and knew well a couple of the men who had been killed”.

Being a firefighter during the War was a tough job, Charlie said: “We worked 120 hours a week and our wages were £3 a week”.

Unfortunately, Charlie’s eyesight was not of the standard required to remain in the peacetime fire brigade. In 1945 he returned to the building trade, an area he’d worked in prior to joining the brigade.

BLITZ IN NUMBERS

2010-05-12T21:41:00.008Z

UPDATE: FEB. 24, 2011

Image: BBC

No. 37 FIRE FORCE

2010-04-07T13:22:00.006Z

Photo: london-se1.co.uk
Fire Brigade memorial at Southwark Cathedral

NEW KIT

2010-04-07T12:10:00.004Z

In April 2010, the London Fire Brigade introduced a new look - a blue fire kit.

The turnout gear is designed to integrate with breathing apparatus sets, chemical protection suits and other fire brigade equipment.

“We have taken advantage of the latest technology from an evolving and competitive market to purchase a replacement that is safe, light and comfortable," London Fire Commissioner Roy Dobson said.

"The safety of our firefighters is of paramount importance and the new fire kit will meet the exacting standards demanded by the London Fire Brigade,” Dobson said.

CENTRAL LINE - 2007

2010-03-17T18:00:00.006Z

Photo: Daily Telegraph

On July 5, 2007, hundreds of London Underground commuters were trapped on the Central Line for two hours after a train struck "an obstacle" between Mile End and Bethnal Green, according to The Daily Telegraph. "Emergency services treated 20 people for light injuries, including five who were brought to hospital mainly as a result of suffering breathing problems because of panic attacks," the Telegraph reported.

V-1 ROCKET

2010-03-17T17:24:00.001Z

Photo: www.worldwar2database.com

CIGARETTE CARDS

2010-03-17T16:31:00.004Z

In the years leading up to World War Two, collecting "cigarette cards" was a popular hobby, and in 1938 tobacco companies issued a series depicting air raid precautions, according to the Midnight Watch web site.

CLERKENWELL - 1867

2010-03-17T15:50:00.004Z

Photo: Metropolitan Police

"The Fenians were 19th Century Irish Nationalists organised in 1858 as the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland, and in 1867 as the Clan na Gael in the US. The name derives from old Irish 'Fianna', legendary Irish warriors whose name became an Irish term for soldiers. Their activities included the Clerkenwell Bombing in 1867, in which 12 people were killed and 126 injured as the Fenians attempted to rescue two of their members." - Metropolitan Police web site

MORNING AFTER

2010-03-16T14:14:00.006Z

Photo: Museum of London
"This photo was taken the morning after 10 May 1941, the night of the most severe attack of the London Blitz. Queen Street Place, Cheapside and the surrounding area were heavily damaged. Southwark Bridge lies in the distance with Three Cranes Wharf in the centre. Firemen were faced with over 2,000 fires, but low tides and over 40 fractured water mains limited their firefighting capacity. That night marked the last of the major bombing attacks on London for the next three years. Police Constables Arthur Cross and Fred Tibbs photographed the destruction of this street and across the City, as they had done throughout the Blitz."

- Museum of London web site

MUMBAI BLUES

2010-03-16T13:04:00.013Z

Meantime in Mumbai: Firefighters are trading their 1930s-era London-style kits - wool, brass buttons, cork helmets (left) - for modern gear.

BATTERSEA - 2009

2010-03-15T18:23:00.002Z

Photo: Sky News web site
On Dec. 16, 2009, a double-decker bus accident in Battersea injured about two dozen people. Crews from the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service provided care. Medics are dressed in yellow and green uniforms.

HAULIN' TARPS

2010-03-15T14:33:00.009Z

Photo: Fire Engine Photos
London Salvage Corps DCU (damage control unit) in Tottenham in late 1970s. The vehicle carried tarpaulins and other salvage equipment. The salvage corps, operated by the insurance industry, disbanded in the 1980s. It began operations in 1866.

SHOREDITCH - 2010

2010-03-11T21:13:00.018Z

Photos: BBC web site, submitted by viewers

Fire in Shoreditch, central London

On March 11, 2010, flames swept a block of buildings on Tabernacle Street in Shoreditch, and at the height of the incident 20 engines and about 100 firefighters were at the scene.

The initial alarm was received at about 4:30 a.m. and smoke was visible across central London. The fire was under control about seven hours later.

"This was a complicated fire spreading rapidly through different premises and onto a bituemin covered roof, creating huge plumes of smoke across the city and presenting very difficult firefighting conditions for the crews attending," London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said.

"This incident yet again highlights the need for our fire safety work to prevent the fire risk and disruption these incidents have on our capital,” Dobson said.

The building housed a popular club, bar and restaurant - Sosho and the East Room.

Owner Jonathan Downey told The Evening Standard: "It's like one of those smart bombs has just landed on my organisation. Floors have collapsed, some walls are in danger of collapsing. Our head office was there."

INITIAL REPORT FROM THE SCENE
04:32
F24 SHOREDITCH
20 PUMP FIRE PERSONS REPORTED, AERIALS 4
37219101
TABERNACLE STREET, EC2.
Range of buildings of 3,4,and 5 floors, 40 metres x 50 metres, 20 percent of 2nd floor, 20 percent of 3rd floor, 50 percent of roof alight, 3 jets, 1 ground monitor, 2 aerials, all breathing apparatus crews withdrawn, all persons not yet accounted for, tactical mode oscar.

'NEED MORE WOMEN'

2010-03-09T15:57:00.003Z

WAREHOUSE FIRE

2010-03-08T22:15:00.003Z

Photo: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter
Warehouse fire, circa 1960s or 1970s

BRIXTON - 1981

2010-03-08T21:59:00.007Z

Photo: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter
Firefighters at Brixton Riots, April 1981

The Guardian's coverage of the riots

BIG CHILL

2010-03-08T15:01:00.008Z

Photo: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter
Winter scene, late 19th century or early 20th century

WHITEFRIARS - 1959

2010-03-08T14:48:00.010Z

From left to right - Station Officer Hanslip with Firemen McDermott, Elliot and Sloman outside Whitefriars Fire Station in London, 1959

Photos: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter
Left to right - Firemen Smith, Collins and McDermott of the Red Watch at Whitefriars Fire Station, London, 1959.

LADDER TEST - 1932

2010-03-08T14:09:00.006Z

Photo: Fox Photos via Getty Images

Aerial ladder test at the old London Fire Brigade headquarters in Southwark in 1932. The original caption read: "The new ladder can be extended to a height of 100 feet in a matter of seconds." The firefighter on the phone is most likely demonstrating the device used to communicate to top of the ladder. (It appears the ladder isn't extended.)

BUCKET BRIGADE

2010-03-08T13:06:00.003Z

Image: Guildhall Library Prints Room
Firefighting at Tiverton, in the south of England, in 1617. Bucket brigades were no match for conflagrations, such as the Great Fire of London in 1666. That disaster led to the creation of organized firefighting.

LAMBETH - 1850

2010-03-04T22:05:00.002Z

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR CLOSER VIEW

FRESNO STAR - 1946

2010-03-04T17:50:00.002Z

On March 25, 1945, fire broke out in the engine room of the cargo ship Fresno Star at London's Royal Victoria Dock. "Firefighters wearing respirators fought their way through blazing oil to rescue seamen trapped below deck," according to a dispatch from the Australian Associated Press. The 8,000-ton vessel was operated by the Blue Star Line.

MANOR FIELDS - 1985

2010-03-04T14:18:00.039Z

London Fire Brigade station officer examines ruins at Manor Fields in 1985. Eight people died in the gas explosion. (Photo: BBC)

On Jan. 10, 1985, a natural gas explosion leveled Newnham House, a three-story block of flats at the Manor Fields Estate in Putney Hill. Eight people died and dozens others were injured.

The London Fire Brigade freed a woman from the debris, the Associated Press reported. She had been trapped for several hours when firefighters heard her calls for help.

Residents called the gas company to report an odor before duisaster struck, but utility crews "arrived two minutes after the blast," according to the BBC.

During the 36-hour search, a fire brigade safety officer alerted crews to a teetering chimney that collapsed seconds later in a hail of brick and mortar, the AP reported.

"It was a split second business," said Brian Clarke, a fire brigade spokesman, quoted by the AP. "We could have had a new disaster."

Government inspectors "concluded that the explosion was caused by gas leaking into the building from a crack in a cast-iron gas main," the BBC reported.

The BBC also said police chased looters from the site and "found a collection of plastic bags stuffed with £20 notes totalling thousands of pounds, among the debris."

HELP WANTED

2010-03-03T19:36:00.005Z

Do you have a photo, newspaper clip or story to share? Please contact the London Fire Journal at wb2kqg@arrl.net

EAST ENDERS

2010-03-03T16:00:00.016Z

German bombers set ablaze London's industrial East End to destroy docks, warehouses and factories - and demoralize working class families.

In the book "A Cockney Kid In Green Wellies," author Jim Ruston described the aftermath of an air raid:

"Fire hoses wriggled along the ground like snakes, as they were pulled from building to building. Fractured water mains spurted fountains of water high in the air. Emergency supplies had to be pumped from the Regent's canal.

"Firemen, ambulance crews, civil defence members, and the heavy rescue teams were going about their work. The smoke stung your eyes, the dust got in your mouth and the acrid smell of gas lingered in your nostrils.

"As if a vision, dad appeared. He seemed to come from nowhere out of the smoke and dust. ... His face was black, his blue overalls covered in grime, under his arm he held a helmet with the letter R for rescue painted on the front. For that is what he did throughout the Blitz. Defiant, he would never go down a shelter.

"Like most East-Enders, dad thought London exclusively his."

ON THE READY

2010-03-03T15:37:00.010Z

FIREMEN ON COVER

"Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,600,000 copies a week after only six months." - Wikipedia

THEN & NOW

2010-03-03T14:35:00.001Z

Photo: Skyscraper City
West Hampstead Fire Station

'THE RESCUE'

2010-03-02T15:51:00.003Z

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rescue (1855) is a painting by John Everett Millais depicting a London fireman rescuing three children from a house fire, with their mother receiving them back into her arms.

Millais witnessed the death of a fireman in the course of a rescue, and decided to depict the subject. The fire brigade had only recently been transformed from private businesses dedicated to the protection of property to a public institution charged to protect life first.

Millais sought to create the correct effects of light and smoke by using a sheet of coloured glass and by burning planks of wood. This emphasis on fleeting effects of colour and light was a new departure in his art.

The painting is also notable for its startling transitions of colour, particularly the dramatic effect by which the sleeve of the mother's nightgown changes from slatey blue to pale pink. This led to much critical comment at the time.

Robyn Cooper argues that some criticism of the painting arose from the fact that it depicted a virile working class man rescuing middle class children, while their father is nowhere to be seen. The mother's opened arms seem to greet this strong new man as much as her children.

STRATFORD - 1953

2010-02-25T18:01:00.014Z

Photo: Accident Report
On April 8, 1953, firefighters freed commuters trapped in a London Underground tunnel after two trains collided between Statford and Leyton during the evening rush hour. Nine people died and many others were injured. "It's just a shamble down there," said a fireman quoted by the Glasgow Herald. "We have to cut our way through every inch." Doctors and nurses performed surgery as the fire brigade and civil defense burrowed through the Central Line wreckage.

DOCK FIRE - 1900

2010-02-25T17:46:00.007Z

Dec. 31, 1900 - The Colonist, a newspaper in New Zealand

image: National Museum of New Zealand

FIREMAN GOODALL

2010-02-25T16:53:00.006Z

Photo: London Fire Brigade

Samuel Goodall, a fireman assigned to the Soho Fire Station in the late 1870s, was credited with a series of rescues, according to the Soho web site.

Drury Lane - Nov. 24, 1878 -4 rescued
Strand, Buckingham St. - March 1, 1878 - 3 rescued
Strand, Villiers St. - Dec. 10, 1877 - 4 rescued

RUDI M - 1980

2010-02-24T13:34:00.032Z

Photo: East London Advertiser

(Editor's Note: Thank you to Station Manager Robin Whittington of Poplar Fire Station for providing this post.)

By Steve Dudeney
http://www.fireservice.co.uk/

The Motor Vessel Rudi M was an 800-ton Panamanian registered liquid gastanker, and in the winter of 1979/80 it came into Regents Canal Dock off of the River Thames in East London to undergo a re-fit.

On Jan. 17, 1980, fire crews from the Green Watch at Poplar Fire Station, whose ground covered the Regents Canal Dock, had been called to a fire on the ship caused by workers using hot cutting equipment. The fire was quickly tacked by the crews and work on the boat continued throughout January until the fateful morning of the 25th.

The Red watch at F22 Poplar reported for Duty at 1800 on Thursday, Jan. 24. Stn O Tony Westbrook was in charge with Sub O DennisHurley, Lfm John Bailey and Leading Fireman Steve Maynard as the officers that night.

The rest of the watch on duty that night were Fm Dave Andrew, Fm Mick Brophy, Fm John Burgess Fm Carl Chughtai, Fm Steve Debenham, Fm Bill Downey, Fm Keith Herbert, Fm Barry Holmes, Fm Brian Jeffries, Fm Keith Leggett, Fm Keith Stimpson and Fm Paul Wickenden.

Typically for Poplar at that time they had a very busy night with a number of calls in and around Poplar and the pump, with Stn O Westbrook in charge, had spent a large part of the night fighting a 25-pump fire at Chelsea Flour Mills in West London.

Friday dawned a clear day, at around 8.30am a number of the oncoming Green Watch had started to appear, having had a long night a few of the Watch had decided to take an exchange duty so a few members of the Green Watch were now riding for Red Watch personnel.

At 08:55 that morning a call was received at Stratford Fire Control from workers on the ship. There was a fire in the hold; once again contractors had accidentally set alight to insulating material in the tank.

The bells went down at Poplar ordering the pump escape and pump along with the pump from F25 Shadwell to the fire. Upon the arrival of the crews, a fire was seen to be in progress in the hold of the ship and a 4-man BA crew consisting of Lfm Steve Maynard and Fm Steve Debenham from the Red Watch with Sub O George Thomas & Fm Gary Jones from the Green Watch were committed to the hold in BA with a firefighting jet.

The hold was very hot and smoky with visibility at zero. Steve Debenham withdrew to the jetty to get a pair of gloves but was ordered by Stn O Westbrook to go back down and get the crew to withdraw. Steve returned to the hold and passed on Stn O Westbrook's' order, Sub O Thomas and Fm Jones left first followed by Steve Debenham and Steve Maynard.

Upon reaching the top of the ladder Steve Debenham noticed Steve Maynard was not behind him.

He went back down the ladder and all of a sudden the hold of the ship erupted into flame and smoke. Steve Debenham was badly burned and Steve Maynard did not manage to escape, he tragically lost his life.

[Terry Dietman, a worker at the dock, told the East London Advertiser newspaper that day: “There was a sudden gush of smoke from the hold. It was awful. Everyone was so helpless.”]

The LFB lost a good officer and his family and colleagues mourned his untimely death at the age of 26.

Thirty years on from that day, Limehouse Basin is now almost unrecognisable. Members of Steve's family, retired members who attended the fire, local senior officers and principal LFB officers lined up at the side of the dock as a new plaque to commemorate the anniversary of Steve's death was unveiled by London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson.

---

'NICE AND DECENT BLOKE'

Recalling the fire 30 years later, Steve Debenham said in an interview with The Docklands 24 web site:

"It's so important to remember people like Stephen and to let his family know we've never forgotten about him

"He was the one who told me to go up the ladder on that morning and then there was the explosion. That shows the courage of the man. He was a thoroughly nice and decent bloke and had a great sense of humour.

"It was devastating for everyone and I still think about it all the time - it's very distressing to lose a friend and colleague."

GOSWELL ROAD - 1969

2010-02-10T16:28:00.015Z

Photo: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter

Cover photo of London Fireman magazine of collapse of old air raid shelter at Goswell Road, Islington in 1969. The collapse killed Firefighter Michael Lee of the Shoreditch Fire Station and seriously injured another firefighter.

CONSULATE FIRE - 1980

2010-02-05T15:29:00.016Z

Photo: Ottawa Citizen
On March 24, 1980, flames destroyed the Italian Consulate in London's fashionable Knightsbridge district. More than 50 firefighters answered the alarm.

EMBASSY SIEGE - 1980

2010-02-02T17:34:00.021Z

Photos: BBC

On May 5, 1980, a six-day siege at the Iranian embassy ended after a dramatic raid by Special Air Service commandos that freed 19 hostages.

Members of the London Fire Brigade entered the building to extinguish flames ignited by military explosives while police evacuated the hostages.

Five gunmen and one hostage died in the shootout.

The attackers belonged to a group opposed to Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious leader who came to power in Iran in 1979, according to the BBC.

KENTISH TOWN - 1946

2010-02-02T16:01:00.004Z

False alarms can prove deadly. On April 29, 1946, an engine "answering a bogus fire call" in Kentish Town in North London killed four children, according to a Reuters dispatch in The Chicago Tribune.

BLITZ RESCUE

2010-02-02T14:19:00.007Z

Firefighter (at center) with civilian and military rescuers

SAVED BY SANTA

2010-02-02T13:13:00.024Z

On the day after Christmas 1965, the London Fire Brigade raced to St. Matthew's Hospital and extingished flames that threatened a ward for elderly women.

"These people were saved by Christmas," said a police officer quoted by the Associated Press. "The rest of London is empty. At any other time of the year we would never have got here in time."

The fire, which broke out below the ward, "was quickly brought under control after every London district had rushed ambulances and fire fighting equipment to the scene," the AP reported.

"When the fire was discovered, the fire brigade declared a major emergency" and "after it was out, smoke still poured from the building," according to the AP dispatch, published in the Dec. 26, 1965, edition of The Miami News in Florida.

The hospital, built in 1873 as City Road Workhouse by the Holborn Board of Guardians, was damaged during World War Two, according to the London Metropolitan Archives.

On Dec. 8, 1940, St. Matthew's "received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb, which killed many patients and some members of staff and destroyed part of the old south ward block," according to the archives.

The hospital closed in 1986.

ANNUAL REPORT - 1890

2010-02-01T21:44:00.004Z

CLICK on image to read about the activities of the London Fire Brigade in 1890. The article was published in New Zealand newspaper - the Nelson Evening Mail - on April 13, 1891.

GREAT SMOG - 1952

2010-02-01T20:57:00.008Z

In December 1952, a cloud of soot and smoke shrouded London for four days. The Great Smog brought the city to a standstill. The Ministry of Health reported the pollution claimed more than 4,000 lives.

DREAM CITY - 1994

2010-01-29T15:37:00.023Z

On Feb. 28, 1994, a homeless man surrendered to police for setting a blaze claimed 11 lives at an adult theater in Clerkenwell.

The fire on Feb. 26 at Dream City, near Smithfield Market, injured 13 others.

Witnesses reported seeing a man with a red gasoline can before the flames erupted at the unlicensed theater.

"It was a horrific incident - the worst I have experienced in 30 years," said Ken Emsley, commander of the Euston fire station, who was quoted by The Independent. "It was absolutely chaotic. We were working under extreme conditions, with so many people trying to get out of the building."

According to the newspaper:

"Dream City showed straight and gay sex films and occupied the second and third floors. Witnesses said flames engulfed all floors within minutes of the building 'exploding'. The injured suffered severe burns, broken bones and the effects of smoke inhalation. Some jumped from third-floor windows. The pavement outside became strewn with dead and injured as police and ambulancemen battled to revive badly burned victims."

The fire was set by a "deaf, homeless man called David Lauwers" who had a disgreement with the doorman, according to Wikipedia. Lauwers surrendered at the Walthamstowe police station, and a court sentenced him to life in prison.

SYDNEY STREET - 1911

2010-01-29T15:02:00.005Z

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR DETAILS

Jan. 3, 1911 - Block of dwellings

TURNING OUT

2010-01-28T19:36:00.002Z

"There's always this hurry. Now you'll have to tell me if my helmet's on straight."

London Evening News - July 24, 1936

British Cartoon Archive

WAX MUSEUM

2010-01-28T19:02:00.006Z

Flames and aerial bombardment visited Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London during the 20th Century, gutting the popular exhibition hall.

According to the BBC:

"In 1925 an electrical fault caused a raging fire; by the time the fire brigade arrived many of the sculptures had already melted, but many of the head moulds were saved. This meant that, despite the fire destroying the death masks of, among others, Robespierre, the masks could be remade.

"In 1939, with the beginning of the Second World War, London endured the first of many bombing raids. On 8 September, 1940, the first night of the London Blitz, Madame Tussaud's was hit by a bomb which inflicted heavy damage."

COLNEY HATCH - 1903

2010-01-28T16:54:00.022Z

Dispatch in Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, Jan. 27, 1903 and post card of the main gate at Colney Hatch

On Jan. 27, 1903, a fire at the sprawling Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum - a psychiatric hospital serving London - killed 51 people.

According to an account in the British Journal of Psychiatry:

"A few minutes after half-past 5 yesterday morning the steam siren at the asylum sounded the fire alarm, and the inhabitants of New Southgate, Barnet, and Edmonton, the parishes surrounding the asylum, who swarmed into the streets, saw a startling glare showing from the asylum grounds. It was evident that a disastrous fire, which had already obtained a strong hold, was in progress.

"A number of local residents climbed the wall of the asylum at the rear with a view of rendering assistance, but their aid was refused. The fire which had broken out so suddenly and was destined to end so tragically began at the bottom block of the temporary wards.

"It burnt from the outset with great fury, and in a few seconds the whole of the southern block, known as X ward 5, was involved. The buildings, being erected on timber frames and lined with matchboarding, of course fed the flames, and there being a high wind blowing at the time, every element necessary to assist the blaze was present.

"The asylum house fire brigade at once resolutely attacked the fire, but apparently they were in difficulties owing to the lack of water, and they were also short-handed for a task of such magnitude as that which confronted them, there being less than a dozen of the asylum staff drilled as firemen resident inside the walls.

"The heat and smoke created by the fire were also bad elements to contend with, it being im- possible to approach the burning block. In these circumstances it was not surprising to the spectators to observe after a very few minutes that X Ward 4 had burst into flames, which had swept along the commu nicating corridor, meeting with no opposition, while by this time the iron sides and roof of X 5 were almost at a white heat.

"The Hornsey Fire Brigade had been the first to get their steamer to work, but they were unable to do any effective duty until they had dammed a brook at the bottom of the slope, about 400 yards from the fire. When they began to play upon the flames it was too late to prevent the total destruction of the temporary wards, which, in little more than an hour after the outbreak was discovered, had been burned out from end to end and had crumpled down.

"One after another the doomed huts burst into flames. For a while each burned with a brilliant glare, the flames shooting high into the air through the slightly-constructed roof. Then the roof and walls collapsed amid a shower of sparks, and the fire swept on to claim its neighbours. One by one in this rapid way all five of the wards tumbled down, a heap of smouldering ruins."

THEATER FIRES

2010-01-28T16:00:00.014Z

Photos: Illustrated London News
Theater fires plagued London in the 19th Century and Chief Fire Officer Massey Shaw embarked on an ambitious program to improve safety.

According to the London Fire Brigade:

"Theatre fires were very common in Victorian times because of the gas lamps used to light the stage. In 1881/82 Shaw was requested to conduct an inspection of theatres and make recommendations for their protection.

"Just after finishing his report, the Alhambra Theatre burnt down and as one of the walls collapsed it killed two of Shaw’s men and nearly killed the Prince of Wales.

"Shaw’s article Fires in Theatres recommended that all walls in theatres should be of strong construction, that there should be enough exits for people to escape and that theatres should have a good water supply.

"He also devised the theatre fire curtain (still in use today) which would be made of metal and if a fire started it could divide the theatre from the auditorium."

The incident at the Alhambra tested London's fire service.

In a dispatch dated Dec. 7, 1882, The New York Times reported: "At 7 o'clock this morning 25 steam fire-engines were playing on the ruins of the Royal Alhambra Theatre. Owing to the great height of the minarets it was impossible for the water to reach time."

'ALLY PALLY'

2010-01-27T22:22:00.009Z

Photos: Illustrated London News, Alexandra Palace

Fire struck London's Alexandra Palace - known as "Ally Pally" - in 1873 and more than a century later in July 1980.

WATLING STREET

2010-01-27T20:51:00.017Z

Photos: BBC, Flickr - Steve Hunnisett's photostream
London Salvage Corps headquarters, Watling Street, City of London, 1940 - and commemorative plaque

WORLD WAR I

2010-01-27T14:55:00.015Z

Photo: Daily Telegraph

In a prelude to the Blitz of 1940, London contended with raids by German zeppelins and "aeroplanes" during World War I. About 800 Londoners died in the attacks.

NEW KENT ROAD

2010-01-27T14:41:00.008Z

Photos: London SE1 website team

On March 22, 2009, fire swept Hargreen House on New Kent Road SE1. The building sat vacant for several years before the fire, according to the London SE1 community website.

HARROW - 1952

2010-01-26T16:47:00.027Z

Photos: This is London, Red Cross

Harrow rail disaster - Oct. 8, 1952

On Oct. 8, 1952 a London-bound express train missed a yellow signal and careened into the rear of a stationary local train in northwest London. Then, a third train - outbound from from Euston - crashed into the wreckage, according to the BBC.

The disaster at the Harrow and Wealdstone rail station killed 112 people and injured hundreds more. The London-bound express was running at between 50 and 60 mph.

"It was horrible and a big mess," retired London firefighter David Glennie recalled in an interview published in the Harrow Observer on Aug. 21, 2008.

John Bannister, a passenger on the local, told The Times:

"It all happened in a second. There was a terrible crash and glass and debris showered on me. I blacked out for a moment and when I came round I found I was lying on the line with debris on top of me. I managed to free myself and drag myself on to the platform."

According to Wikipedia:

The local from Tring to Euston was made up of nine coaches.
The express from Perth to Euston consisted of 11 cars, which included four sleepers.
The train from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester consisted of 15 cars.

Of the fatalities "it was believed that 64 fatalities occurred in the local train, 23 in the Perth express and 7 in the Liverpool train. Another 14 could not be ascertained, but probably occurred among passengers on the station platforms or footbridge," according to Wikipedia.

CLAPHAM - 1988

2010-01-26T16:28:00.016Z

Photo: Press Association
Senior officers from London Fire Brigade (right) inspect recovery effort at scene of 1988 Clapham Junction rail disaster from roof of passenger coach.

On Dec. 12, 1988, firefighters worked to rescue people from a rail disaster near the Clapham Junction station in southwest London. Thirty-five people were killed and another 500 were injured.

The accident involved two collisions between three commuter trains - one of them empty - about half a mile southwest of the station, according to Wikipedia.

''It is sheer, bloody hell,'' said James McMillan, an assistant chief fire officer quoted by The New York Times. The second train ''seemed to dive under the rear of the first, come out on its right-hand side and then go into the empty train,'' he said.

Passenger Chris Reeves, who was seated in a buffet car on one of the trains, said "the roof split open like a ripe tomato, and that's how we got out.''

An inquiry determined "the primary cause was `wiring errors' made by a rail worker who had had one day off in 13 weeks, and that British Rail work practices were to blame," the BBC said. "It made 93 recommendations for safety improvements, including a limit on the hours signalmen were allowed to work."

In a report on the 10th anniversary of the accident, the BBC said: "The trains involved at Clapham were of the old, Mark 1 slam-door variety, which are known to be less able to withstand a crash than more modern carriages."

WEST HAM - 1938

2010-01-26T16:15:00.007Z

Photo: London Fire Brigade
Station officer inspects equipment at West Ham in 1938.

DUDGEON'S WHARF

2010-01-25T19:03:00.026Z

Photos: http://www.fireservice.co.uk/ and East End Life
The London Fire Brigade dedicates a plaque marking the 40th anniversary of an explosion that killed five firefighters on July 17, 1969 at the derelict Dudgeon's Wharf tank farm.

The names of the fallen:

Temporary sub-officer Michael Gamble, Millwall station
Firefighter John Appleby, Brunswick Road station
Firefighter Terrance Breen, Brunswick Road station
Firefighter Paul Carvosso, Cannon Street station
Firefighter Alfred Smee, Millwall station

Excerpt from East London Advertiser:

Dec. 24, 2009

By Mike Brooke

FIREFIGHTERS remembered their five comrades this Christmas who perished more than 40 years ago at the Dudgeon’s Warf disaster on the Isle of Dogs in East London when a commemorative plaque was unveiled.

London’s fire commissioner Ron Dobson unveiled the plaque at the service on the site of the former Millwall oil storage plant at Compass Point, off Manchester Road.

The service marked that fateful Thursday afternoon in July, 1969, when five firemen and a demolition worker were killed. Five more firemen were serious injured.

A fire had broken out in one of the huge oil storage tanks on the Thames waterfront, big enough to hold a-million gallons, which demolition workers had actually put out. Fire crews arrived to make sure—but miscalculation led to the horrifying explosion that sent six men to their deaths.

They believed the 60ft storage tank was empty and were standing by ready to cool the inside with hoses while demolition worker Richard Adamas cut open an inspection cover through the thick steel hull.

But air rushing in through the open cover may have mixed with vapour from the residual oil at the bottom of the tank. A spark from Richard’s oxyacetylene torch ignited the lethal cocktail of oxygen and oil chemical and exploded, sending the crew on the tank roof hurtling 40ft to their deaths.

Police and nearby dockers raced to the scene searching the rubble for the bodies, while the injured were ferried in a fleet of ambulances to Poplar Hospital.

A neighbour living close by in Manchester Road called the East London Advertiser office at 12.25pm and said: “The explosion rocked our flats—it was just like the blitz all over again.”

Mothers ran to the nearby Cubitt Town Primary school to make sure their children were safe.

The man who raised the alarm was the plant office manager Alf Moon, who later gave a dramatic account of the tragic events to the paper.

“A fire broke out in tank number 97 in the morning during the demolition work and I called the Fire Brigade,” he said. “But before I had even put the telephone down, the men signalled that they themselves had extinguished the fire.“The Brigade arrived to make sure the tank was safe. That’s when it exploded into a sheet of flames. It was just like a rocket taking off.

“The men who had been on the top were sailing through the air with their arms and legs outstretched and twisted metal flying around them.”

Wreckage from the blast landed 150ft away. One of the demolition workers who helped find the bodies was metal-cutter Roy Measom, whose friend Richard Adamas, known as Reg, was the workman who was killed.

He said: “We had the fire under control, but the firemen arrived and wanted to get inside the tank.

“They told me to cut off bolts holding an inspection cover at the bottom of the tank.

“Reg lit the gun and handed it to Mick Hagarty who gave it to me.

“As soon as I started cutting, there was an explosion and the gun was torn from my hand. Reg landed face down on the jetty. I think he was killed instantly.”

Roy Measom was nearly killed himself, as he later recalled: “I saw the top of the tank flying towards me and dived between two other tanks. It’s a miracle I survived.

“When I looked up, the firemen were flying around like paper dolls. The air was full of helmets and debris.”

SOHO CLUB - 1980

2010-01-22T17:53:00.025Z

Photos: Soho Fire Station web site

Early on Aug. 15, 1980, a customer ejected from a drinking and gambling den - located along London's Tin Pan Alley - returned with a can of gasoline and set a blaze that killed 37 people, according to the Soho Fire Station web site.

"As is so often in Soho, there was very little showing at the front," however, "at the rear, the building was an inferno," according to the Soho web site. "The entire building and staircases were engulfed in seconds. No one inside stood a chance."

The initial call, which came in at about 3:30 a.m., provided a bad address - a location off the Soho station's territory - but "a running call to the station gave the correct address" on Denmark Place, according to the web site.

Members of the Green Watch responded to the initial alarm and members of the Red Watch were respsonsible for the recovery of the bodies from the ruins of the South American Club and the Spanish Club, the web site said.

CIVIL SERVICE - 1982

2010-01-22T17:35:00.017Z

Photo: Soho Fire Station web site
On July 27, 1982, flames swept the Civil Service Building and adjacent structures at The Strand in London's West End.

The fire, which injured two firefighters, started at about 5 a.m. and spread to eight stories of the building before it was extinguished at midday, according to news reports. The flames were fueled by exploding acetylene cylinders used for construction work.

The pump escape, pump and turntable ladder from Soho and pump from Westminster answered the initial alarm, and subsequent calls brought a total of 20 engines and six turntable ladders, according to the Soho fire station web site.

The STOP message said: "A range of buildings, 5 floors and basement, 40m x 80m, 60% of all floors, 10% of basement and 60% of roof dxf, 15 Jets, 8 Ground monitors, One HP monitor, BA," according to the Soho web site.

ESCAPE & ENGINE

2010-01-22T16:57:00.003Z

Postcard of escape and engine in late 1800s or early 1900s.

HOSE DRILL

2010-01-22T16:47:00.004Z

Postcard of hose and ladder exercise during Victorian Era. (Firefighter at lower left serves today at Finchley)

BLITZ POSTER

2010-01-22T16:34:00.002Z

World War Two poster from Ministry of Home Security