Fire brigade response times increase in 14 Camden wards after Boris Johnson’s fire station closures
Andrew Dismore AM, Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, and member of the London Fire Authority has today revealed figures which show that 14 of Camden’s wards now has a slower fire brigade response times, after London Mayor Boris Johnson closed 10 fire stations, including Belsize and Clerkenwell in Camden ( table of longer response times below)
Mr Dismore said:
‘ it is not surprising that the worst ward affected ward is Belsize, which has seen its attendance time increase by almost 2 minutes, with Haverstock and Holborn and Covent Garden seeing times increase by over half a minute, for the first fire engine to attend. 14 Camden wards now have longer attendance times for both first and second fire engine attendance.
‘Fires can take hold in seconds that’s why any increase in response times, even if only a few seconds, can be so dangerous.
‘Camden residents will be deeply concerned that since the closures it could take significantly longer for a fire engine to reach their home. These latest figures show that in many Camden wards it will now take longer to get to fires than it did last year.’
A breakdown of the latest London Fire Service response time data can be found here.
