Andrew Dismore

Dear Editor,

Belsize is just one of the 17 fire stations for closure identified on the Fire Authority’s  preferred options list to cut £25 million from the Fire Brigade budget , but this is not likely to be the end of the story, as to meet the cuts target of £64.9 million set by Mayor Boris Johnson, it looks more than likely that no fewer than 30 fire stations across London will have to close.

Belsize is crucial to Camden’s excellent fire brigade emergency response times, the second best in the whole of London, which will be put at risk by the Mayor’s cuts plan.

The importance of Belsize was clearly demonstrated by a fire only a couple of weeks ago on 15^th November, in a flat situated in a road just 2 streets from the fire station. At the time, the Belsize fire engine was providing cover at another station, as that fire crew were on a training course. This one day effectively replicated the situation that would apply all the time, if Belsize station were to be closed. As Belsize could not attend, the fire engines from West Hampstead were ordered to attend the fire: it took them almost 8 minutes to get there, instead of the 4 minutes or less it would have taken Belsize. This was not the fault of the West Hampstead firefighters, of course-they just had further to go. Luckily, no one was trapped in or injured by the fire, but it shows the risks that will follow if the station closes. A medium sized fire grows in intensity exponentially:  a delay of 2 minutes will see a quadrupling of that fire’s ferocity.

No final decisions have yet been made: the Fire Authority is likely to see the final proposed list in the New Year, but on every draft list so far, Belsize has been earmarked for closure, so the threat of closure is very real.

I raised the risks with Mayor Johnson at the last Mayor’s Question Time and his response was evasive. What is important is that we maintain the excellent service given by the Fire Brigade to Camden residents and indeed across London, rather than let the attendance times for emergency calls slip, which is the inevitable consequence of the Mayor’s cuts policy.

You can rest assured that as a member of the Fire Authority, I will continue to fight this appalling prospect.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly member for Camden and Barnet