Andrew Dismore

Dear Editor

 

The  strain on our local fire service, post the closure of Belsize Fire Station shut by Mayor Boris Johnson, was brought into sharp focus by the series of fires  on Saturday 4^th July, including  the ‘person reported’ incident in Belmont Street: the address of this fire was previously part of  the now closed Belsize Fire Station’s ground.

 

It took 15 minutes for the first appliance to arrive fro, as far away as Dowgate.  Thankfully, there was no loss of life, but it shows the impact of closing Belsize- and the risk from the further front  line fire brigade cuts the Mayor seems  determined to force through.

 

He  has issued a direction to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) telling  us not to redeploy to fire stations 13 fire appliances currently being used to support contingency arrangements, despite an agreement with the FBU to guarantee  fire cover in the event of  future industrial action.

 

The Mayor  wants  the Fire Brigade budget options for 2016/17 to include the  permanent removal of the 13 fire engines, even though his  £11million funding  gap can be bridged without such front line cuts.

 

There is no financial benefit to keeping these 13 appliances ‘off the run’. It reduces firefighting capacity in the capital, and while not all areas affected have seen significant rises overall in attendance times since the last round of the Mayor’s cuts, many  areas have  done, including   Belsize Park.

 

After his last round of mass closures of Fire Stations and removal of fire engines, the Mayor said that there would be no more front line cuts in the Fire Brigade. He is going back on his word.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Andrew Dismore