TELEPRINTER

Photos: delta23lfb via Flickr
Images of a London fire station teleprinter and a message calling additional fire crews - with "BA" or breathing appartus - to a major incident at King George V Dock in East London on Dec. 29, 1974. The "royal dock" was built in 1912 and closed in the 1980s. Today, it's part of "The Docklands."

OXFORD STREET

Photo: Soho Fire Station web site

Aerial ladders in operation at 10-pump fire on Oxford Street, London.

WHAT A NIGHT

Members of Auxiliary Fire Service catch a nap on a "heavy" pump during the Blitz.

LONDON HOSPITAL - 1940

The German air raids of 1940 damaged London Hospital, Whitechapel.

BOAC 712 - 1968

Barbara Jane Harrison, GC

Photos:  UK accident investigation, Wikipedia

On April 8, 1968, the No. 2 jet engine of BOAC Flight 712 snapped from the wing after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport and the crippled Boeing 707 returned to the airfield in a fiery and tragic emergency landing.

Flames and fumes killed five people, including flight attendant Jane Harrison, who was trying to rescue a disabled passenger. Harrison, 22, was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her heroism.

Wikipedia said: "The cabin crew started the evacuation, even before the aircraft had come to a halt ... Harrison was last seen preparing to jump, but she turned back and disappeared into the passenger cabin, in an attempt to save the remaining four passengers."

The blazing four-engine 707 had been bound for Australia and was laden with fuel.

"The first two fire engines to arrive were unable to do much, as they stopped too far from the aircraft and their design prevented their moving once they began making foam," according to Wikipedia.

"Paint on the coupling threads of nearby fire hydrants prevented hoses from being attached," Wikipedia said. "A backup foam water tender drove in closer and discharged its foam effectively, but the fire had already gained hold by then."

CAMBERWELL - 2009

Photos: Paul Wood (top), on Daily Mirror web site. BBC web site (lower)

On July 3, 2009, fire killed six people in a high-rise apartment building in Camberwell, South London.

Firefighters rescued 40 others as flames engulfed the upper levels of the 12-story Lakanal House. The dead had taken refuge in a bathroom on the 11th floor.

``We worked as fast as we could and rescued many people from the block,'' London Fire Commissioner Rob Dobson said. ``Sadly, and to the huge regret of the crews involved we simply could not reach everyone in time.''

The worst of the disaster was above the reach of the fire brigade's tallest ladders, which extend for roughly 100 feet.

Dobson said the fire brigade arrived ``within minutes of being called'' and that ``crews worked under very difficult and hazardous circumstances to reach people trapped in the building as soon as they were able to.''

About 100 firefighters - staffing 18 pumps, as well as six rescue units and two aerial ladder platforms - were assigned to the fire. Members of the London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police were also on the scene assisting. The incident occurred on the territory of the Peckham Fire Station, E37.

Assistant Commissioner Nick Collins, quoted by the Evening Standard, said: ``Some of the firefighters went back in three or four times. They were working at their very limits. We are extremely proud of them.''

WORSLEY HOTEL - 1974

Photo: London Fire Brigade, Gordon Honeycombe web site

Photo of London firefighter Petit bottom left

On Dec. 13, 1974, an arson fire swept the Worsley Hotel in the Maida Vale section of London, killing seven people - including a probationary firefighter named Hamish ``Harry'' Petit.

Three other firefighters were injured.

The story of the Worsley Hotel fire was recounted by journalist Gordon Honeycombe in the book ``Red Watch'' and by former London officer Neil Wallington in the book "Fireman! A personal account."

The hotel's kitchen porter, Edward Mansfield, was convicted of setting the fire.

Here's Wikipedia's account of the blaze:

The first of several 999 calls were made to the London Fire Brigade at 03:32 and received by the local fire station, A21, Paddington who were ordered to the scene along with neighbouring A22, Manchester Square and G26 Belsize, bringing the first attendance of 4 pumping appliances – 2 carrying the heavy but stable 50 foot (15m) wheeled escape ladders, a 100 ft (30m) turntable ladder (aerial) and an emergency tender (for the breathing apparatus (BA) sets carried, the wearing of which was then still a specialist skill).

On arrival, a chaotic scene greeted the senior officer, a serious fire in progress and numerous persons requiring rescue.

A priority message was made to control and a “Make pumps 8” message was sent (requesting a further 4 pumping appliances in addition to the original 4) within minutes of first arriving, whilst rescues (the priority) were being affected from both the front and rear of the building.

Further reinforcements were requested, first to 15 pumps, and then 20, and finally 30 with a further 2 turntable ladders requested.

During the next hour, the building structure began to deteriorate as floors and roof structures became affected by fire.

This was particularly apparent in house numbers 13, 15, and 17, the worst affected.

Many of the internal stairways were stone and when heated by the fire and then suddenly cooled by water collapsed making internal movement through the building awkward and potentially hazardous.

As further crews arrived along with increasingly senior officers to direct operations and persons were accounted for, the operation moved from rescue to the fighting of the fire.

Crews took hoses through the doors from the street and off ladders through the windows.

One of these fire fighting crews made up of 3 men and a Station Officer, entered a second floor room to search out the seat of the fire.

Whilst in the room, several floors above weakened by the extra load of the partially collapsed roof came down on the crew, the devastation seemingly concentrated on that one room.

The release of the trapped men became the priority, with what proved to be a difficult and protracted rescue operation.

One by one, 3 men were released (2 with serious burns and 1 with a serious back injury) before the body of the 4th man was found, who was declared dead at the scene.

BREAD STREET - 1899

Photo: London Stereoscopic Co.
Horse-drawn pumps supplying water from hydrant at fire on Bread Street in the City of London in 1899.

CHANCERY LANE - 2009

On March 18, 2009, a 15-pump fire broke out at Breams Buildings on Chancery Lane in central London. Vicki Clarke, who works in an office in New Street Square, captured this image posted on the BBC web site. Chancery Lane derives its name from the historic High Court of Chancery. 

INCIDENT REPORT
15.36
A27 CLERKENWELL
15 PUMP FIRE, CYLINDERS INVOLVED
44766091
ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION TRIBUNAL SERVICE, CHANCERY LANE, EC4
Office block of 5 floors and mansard roof. 50 metres by 10 metres, 50 per cent of 4th floor and 75 per cent of mansard roof alight. 3 jets 2 aerial monitors, dry riser and breathing apparatus in use.1 ground monitor supplying protective water curtain to adjacent building. 3 by 15 kilogramme propane cylinders involved. Cylinder procedure implemented. 2 adjacent buildings evacuated from 6th floor and above. Extensive salvage operations being undertaken from 4th floor to ground level.

FIRE STRIKE - 1977

"You're lucky - Working to Rule simply means putting the fire out ...''

Photo and cartoons: Daily Mail, Daily Mirror
U.K. firefighters staged a nationwide strike in November 1977. The BBC said they settled for a 10% pay increase, taking an average salary to just over £4,000. The military staffed civil defense fire engines during the strike.

BALHAM TUBE - 1940

On Oct. 15, 1940, a German air raid killed 111 people at Balham Underground station on the Northern line. 

CHISWICK WORKS - 1941

A special firefighting squad protected London Transport Chiswick Works during World War II. The plant - converted to defense work and operated by London Aircraft Production - was targeted by German bombers, including an incendiary raid on Oct. 10, 1940, according to London Transport. The photos show drilling on March 20, 1941.

CLAPHAM DEPOT - 1941

German bombers damaged the tram depot at Clapham on April 19, 1941, according to London Transport.

CALEDONIA - 1980

Photos: River Clyde web site; Soho Fire Station web site
On April 27, 1980, a 15-pump fire destroyed the retired Paddle Steamer Caledonia, moored on the Thames. A flashover injured five firefighters, according to the Soho Fire Station web site. Renamed Old Caledonia, the vessel was serving as a floating pub at the Embankment. She was built in 1934.

AFS WOMEN HONORED

Photo: Wharf.co.uk

In 2008, the former Millwall Fire Station was converted into an apartment block named for Violet Pengelly and Joan Bartlett, members of the London Auxiliary Fire Service killed during World War II.

According to the web site Wharf.co.uk: ``The young pair were among those who lost their lives during a bomb attack at the height of the blitz.

``Violet, 19, and Joan, 18, were among the first women to sign up to the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1938, and were based at a sub-station in the Saunders Ness Road School on the Isle of Dogs when World War II broke out a year later.

``The two were killed – along with 24 other emergency workers – when the school suffered a direct hit from a high-explosive bomb on the night of September 18, 1940.''

The new residences are named Bartlett Mews and Pengelly Apartments.

HEAVY PUMPS

Photo: Life magazine

Auxiliary fire service heavy pumps in September 1940.

TRAILER PUMPS

Photos: Life magazine, LFB web site

During World War II, the National Fire Service operated trailer pumps to augment its fleet of fire engines. In London, the fire service hired 2,000 Austin taxis to tow the pumps. Depending upon the model, these appliances could pump from 120-gallons per minute to 900-gallons per minute, according to Neil Wallington's book ``Firemen at War.''

FIVE COVER - 1865

Image: LFB web site

In 1865, the London Fire Engine Establishment - predecessor to the London Fire Brigade - operated 17 stations.

"MEOW 999"

Photo: Euston Fire Station web site

Firefighters in central London go to the aid of "Pancake" the cat, stranded atop a chimney, according to the web site of the Euston Fire Station. www.eustonfirestation.com/

RESTING AT FIRE

The painting "Resting at Fire" - oil on canvas by Reginald Mills, 1940 - depicts firemen during the Blitz, according to the London Fire Brigade web site.

TELEGRAPH

Photos: LFB web site
Fire stations in 1889 and watch room telegraph

In the 19th Century, Eyre Massey Shaw - the first chief officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade - linked London's fire stations by telegraph.

In his 1867 book ``Fighting the Flames,'' author R. M. Ballantyne explained messages were relayed through a central office in an effort to improve response times and maintain adequate fire cover in each of the brigade's districts.

``When a fire occurs in any part of London ... the fire station nearest to it at once sends out its engines and men, and telegraphs to the head or centre station at Watling Street,'' Ballantyne wrote. (Actual alarms of fire were turned in by neighborhood runners paid a shilling per shout from the station purse.)

``From Watling Street the news is telegraphed to the foremen's stations, whence it is transmitted to the stations of their respective districts, so that in a few minutes after the breaking out of a fire the fact is known to the firemen all over London,'' according to Ballantyne's book.

POST OFFICE - 1912

On Aug. 24, 1912, a fire broke out in the telegraph equipment at the General Post Office at St. Martin's le Grand. According to The New York Times: ``The large force of firemen, who were quickly on the scene, had considerable difficulty in getting at the seat of fire, which was in a compartment containing wires between the instrument gallery and the floor below."

CENTRAL TELEGRAPH - 1916

During World War I, the Central Telegraph Office in London was set ablaze during a German air raid. The attackers were flying Gotha bombers.

GREAT MARLBOROUGH - 1970

Photo: Soho Fire Station web site
In 1970, fire swept the building that once served as the Great Marlborough Street fire station, according to the web site of the Soho Fire Station. It opened in 1887 and closed about 1920.

THE GREAT FIRE - 1666

In the days before the London Fire Brigade, the Great Fire of London raged for five days during September 1666 - demonstrating the inadequacy of informal bucket brigades.

The conflagration started at the king's bakery on Pudding Lane.

According to the London Fire Brigade's web site, flames destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and a variety of other buildings - including The Royal Exchange, The Guild Hall and the original St. Paul’s Cathedral.

``The death toll was six people, yet a great many others died through indirect causes,'' such as exposure during the harsh winter that followed, according to the brigade's web site.

Just the same, ``There were some benefits of the fire,'' the web site said. ``One of these was that the black plague which had killed many people was eliminated by the burning down of diseased, rat-infested properties.''

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From Port Cities web site

Towards the end of the 17th century, an insurance industry began to develop in London. One branch of the industry became involved in offering fire policies to owners of buildings. Before long, the insurance companies employed their own fire teams - recruited from the Thames watermen - to put out fires at properties they insured.

To distinguish which buildings were covered by their policies, insurance companies devised 'fire marks' - special metal signs to be placed on the facades of insured buildings.

Unfortunately, private enterprise was not really up to the task of protecting the public. As insurance companies were interested in protecting only their clients, they would usually ignore any properties not insured or insured by other firms.

Even when a company's fire crew did turn up at a blaze, they would often leave the building to burn. Although various compromises were reached, it was not a satisfactory situation.

It took more than a century before it became clear that the free market in fire fighting was not providing adequate protection. In 1833, 19 insurance companies banded together to form the London Fire Engine Establishment.

It was headed by James Braidwood, who had pioneered a similar initiative in Edinburgh. The Establishment had 80 full-time officers, popularly known as 'Jimmy Braiders'.

GREAT ORMOND - 2008

LONDON FIRE BRIGADE INCIDENT REPORT

08:35
A27 CLERKENWELL
6 PUMP FIRE AND EXPLOSION
176963081
GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL

GREAT ORMOND STREET WC1
Children’s hospital of 8 floors, 100 meters x 100 meters, fire and explosion in cardiac wing on level 5, 50 percent of self contained unit approximately 4 meters x 4 meters damaged by fire. 1 jet, 1 hose reel, dry riser, breathing apparatus, detection identification monitoring equipment, thermal image camera, 23 patients and 12 members of staff evacuated from level 5, all uninjured. Approximately 300 members of public and staff evacuated and relocated in safe areas of the hospital. 4 members of brigade injured suffering shock, removed by London Ambulance Service.

FARRINGDON STREET - 1925

Photo: Topical Press Agency
Emergency tender firefighters from Clerkenwell don breathing apparatus at a blaze at a rubber plant on Farringdon Street in 1925. 

SHEPHERDS BUSH - 2008

Photos: BBC web site

LONDON FIRE BRIGADE INCIDENT REPORT - July 29, 2008

06:51
G36 HAMMERSMITH
15 PUMP PERSONS REPORTED FIRE
136619081
SHEPHERDS BUSH ROAD W6
Church of 1, 2 and 3 floors 20 metres by 35 metres, 70% of first floor, 70% of roof damaged by fire. 6 jets, 2 aerial monitors, breathing apparatus, thermal image camera, all persons accounted for, same as all calls.

WALDORF SCHOOL - 2004

Photo: Waldor School web site

On June 26, 2004, fire destroyed the Waldorf School of South West London, which was built primarily of timber. There were no injuries. The fire broke out on a Saturday and classes resumed on Monday on the school's playing fields, according to the BBC.

SOUTH HARROW - 2008

Photo: BBC web site
On May 7, 2008, a deadly explosion caused the collapse of two homes at Stanley Road, South Harrow. "Two people were taken to hospital and following a search of the premises the body of a man was discovered,'' the London Fire Brigade said. 

BUNCEFIELD DEPOT - 2005

The London Fire Brigade provided assistance for a fire and explosion at the Buncefield oil depot at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire on Dec. 11, 2005.  The oil depot is located about 25 miles northwest of London. 

FAMILY AFFAIR

PHOTO: Family archives

Firefighting is often a family affair with one generation following another into the service.

This is a portrait of Superintendent John Blyth of the London Salvage Corps, flanked by sons Herbert, on the left, and William, on the right.

The photograph - from the family archives - is believed to have been taken at the salvage corps station at Southwark Bridge Road, according to the Blyth's ancestors.

The salvage corps station - No. 3 - was located opposite the headquarters of the old Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station at Southwark and protected D District, which covered South London, according to Wikipedia.

FIRE ESCAPE SOCIETY

Illustration: The Fireman's Own Book, By George P. Little - 1860

In the 19th Century, the Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire operated a system of escape ladders across London.

Established in 1836, the rescue service - independent of the London Fire Engine Establishment - became operational in 1843, when six stations opened, each staffed by a sole fireman in a sentry box called a ``conductor.''

The escape ladder service was so successful that the number of stations outnumbered those of the regular fire brigade. By 1866, the number of rescue stations had increased to 1866, according to Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information.

``In 1858, 504 fires had been attended, and 57 persona rescued,'' Haydn's said in its report on the society. ``In 1861, it was stated that 84 lives had been saved by the society's officers. In 1866, 695 fires had been attended, and 78 lives saved.''

Euston to Clerkenwell

In 1846, the Mechanics Magazine reported:

``The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, since it was remodelled in 1843, has been progressing in usefulness, and consequently in public favour. The society has for some time past maintained twelve stations, at regular distances, from Eaton-square, Pimlico, to St. John-street, Clerkenwell.

``At each station there is a fire-escape and conductor, who is provided with a crowbar, axe, and rattle ; and it is the duty of each conductor to be with his machine (in the management of which he is well instructed) throughout the night, and to proceed with the same to a fire immediately on the first alarm.

``The report for 1845 is not yet published, but by reference to that for the former year it appears that one or more of the society's fire-escapes attended eighty fires, and happily saved the lives of ten persons, who, it is confidently believed, would have perished but for the timely aid thus offered to them.''

Drawbacks

Nonetheless, the machines had their drawbacks.

In the 1860 publication ``The Fireman's Own Book,'' author George P. Little wrote:

``The truth is, that most such require too much adjustment at the critical moment when their services are wanted; either they are in the hands and under the management of those who are too much agitated to do them justice, or they have to be brought from a distance, and to undergo a long process of adjustment.''

The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire merged with the fire brigade in August 1867.