Letter for publication – Evening Standard: Mayor’s fire cuts
24 June 2013
Dear Editor,
Mayor Boris Johnson’s fire brigade cuts plan continues to fall apart. At the State of London event (12/6/13) Boris Johnson said:
“what we are doing is bringing more parts of London within the minimum journey times both for the first and second fire appliance .“
– a claim he repeated at last week’s Mayor’s Question Time and which is clearly now seen to be bogus .
Across London no fewer than 43 wards presently inside the 6 minutes target time will go over , whilst a mere 3 wards come down to within the 6 minute target from outside it, all in Richmond.
Moreover, comparing those 3 Richmond wards with only 3 of the 7 Camden wards now to be over the 6 minutes -Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town and Haverstock- there were over three times as many incidents in the Camden wards – 10,534 to 3,265 in the last 10 years and even worse, six times as many fire deaths. The same pattern is repeated in Westminster. Just 3 of their wards now going over 6minutes – Knightsbridge/Belgravia, Vincent Square and Warwick- saw 12,321 incidents, four times as many incidents and also four times as many fire deaths as the 3 Richmond wards.
Fire Stations like Clerkenwell, Belsize, Westminster and Knightsbridge amongst others are to be cut and attendance times increased in central London, so as to bring attendance times in just 3 wards with less demand within the 6 minute target!
These ill thought out plans leading to additional delays in attendance for the busiest boroughs are unacceptable and Boris Johnson must withdraw his dangerous fire service cuts scheme.
Andrew Dismore AM
Labour London Assembly member for Camden and Barnet
