Andrew Dismore

The London Fire Brigade have released details of increased response times for local
wards in London. The statistics reveal that 41 local wards in London will now fall
outside of the target response time, due to the Mayor’s decision to cut 12 fire stations,
18 fire engines and 520 firefighters. This is on top of the 267 already falling outside
the target. The wards in Camden include Belsize, Camden Town with Primrose Hill;
Gospel Oak; Hampstead Town; Haverstock, and Swiss Cottage.

The information was quietly released onto the London Fire Brigade’s website late yesterday
(Tuesday). So far 11 boroughs have had their formal consultation meetings with the Fire
Brigade, despite the fact they were not provided with these detailed figures which for the first
time reveal the full impact of the Mayor’s cuts.

The details show that residents in an additional 6 wards in Camden will fall outside of the
target response time of six minutes for the first fire engine.

Andrew Dismore AM , Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden said:

“These figures clearly show that the Mayor has been misleading Londoners. His cuts will
mean that people across our city and especially in Camden will have to wait significantly
longer for a fire engine to arrive in the event of an emergency. Belsize ward will see a
3.22minutes increase; Camden Town with Primrose Hill 1.04minutes increase; Gospel
Oak) 44 seconds increase; Hampstead Town 1.39mins increase; Haverstock 1.01 minutes
increase; and Swiss Cottage 1.26mins increase.

This might not sound a lot but a fire can quadruple in intensity every two minutes. These
increases are truly scandalous, and it is no wonder they didn’t release this information
sooner.

This shows how flawed is the Mayor’s Draft Fire Plan. The borough response times in the
plan hide these local increases, which are disgraceful. The Mayor’s plans to cut 12 fire
stations, 18 fire engines and 520 firefighters are unacceptable. We presented him with a fully
costed plan to keep them all, but instead he has chosen to cut council tax by one penny a
day. While a small amount to individual Londoners, across our city this adds up and will lead
to a 12% cut to the front line of our invaluable fire service. It is more urgent than ever that
Londoners respond to the Mayor’s consultation and tell him what they think. Boris must take
Londoners for complete fools if he thinks he can get away with this.”

Full details of attendance times changes for Camden:

Belsize (4.37 – 7.59) 3.22mins increase; Camden Town with Primrose Hill (5.23 – 6.27)
1.04mins increase; Gospel Oak (5.27 – 6.11) 44 seconds increase; Hampstead Town (5.07
– 6.46) 1.39mins increase; Haverstock (5.15-6.16) 1.01 mins increase; Swiss Cottage
(5.19-6.45) 1.26mins increase