March 2020 Fire answers

Coronavirus impact [2]
Question No: 2020/1332
Andrew Dismore
Has any assessment been made about the impact of a Coronavirus pandemic on London’s emergency service staffing levels and ability to respond to an emergency?
Coronavirus impact [2]
The Mayor
Last updated: 19 March, 2020
This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
All Category 1 and 2 responders have reviewed their Business Continuity arrangements and their pandemic preparedness, following the London Resilience Forum that took place on 6 February. All organisations continue to review their plans in light of any new evidence and intelligence.
All emergency services, as Category 1 responders, have a statutory duty to have in place business continuity plans for events like pandemics. These plans are well prepared and tested.
Fire Cadets
Question No: 2020/1333
Andrew Dismore
Will you meet your commitment to ensure there is a fire cadet scheme in every borough by the end of the current financial year?
Fire Cadets
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Yes. Cadet schemes have been opening across over the last few months and the final schemes are currently on schedule to be open by the end of March.
Victoria Coach Station fire hazards
Question No: 2020/1334
Andrew Dismore
Reports state that fire safety experts have uncovered a catalogue of major fire risks at Victoria Coach Station which could have put thousands of passengers at risk and cause a potentially deadly ‘disaster’. What are you doing to address this concern urgently?
Answer for Victoria Coach Station fire hazards
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Officers are drafting a response
Non-ACM cladding data collection
Question No: 2020/1336
Andrew Dismore
Further to your answer to Question No: 2020/0579, ‘ When do you expect MHCLG to publish information on buildings with forms of unsafe cladding other than ACM?’
Your answer being:
The Government has set a deadline of March 2020 for local authorities to return data on the external walls of all high-rise buildings. I am not aware of any plans of the Government’s to publish this information.
will you lobby the Government to publish this data so residents will know what hazards they face?
Non-ACM cladding data collection
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
I agree that the Government should urgently publish details of which external wall systems have failed testing. This is long overdue and the lack of action is putting residents at risk. However, as with buildings with unsafe aluminium composite materials cladding, I do not support publishing a list of affected blocks given the increased safety risk this would pose to residents.
TfL fire hazards (1)
Question No: 2020/1339
Andrew Dismore
For each station on the London Underground and London Overground networks, how many a) notices of deficiency and b) enforcement notices have been received from London Fire Brigade in each year from 2010 to the present?
Answer for TfL fire hazards (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Officers are drafting a response
TfL fire hazards (2)
Question No: 2020/1340
Andrew Dismore
For each bus depot operating TfL services in London, how many a) notices of deficiency and b) enforcement notices have been received from London Fire Brigade in each year from 2010 to the present?
TfL fire hazards (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
From its regular discussions with bus operators, Transport for London is not aware of any depots being issued with notices of deficiency or enforcement notices from the London Fire Brigade during this time.
Capita performance (1)
Question No: 2020/1341
Andrew Dismore
How many times in each year since the introduction of London Fire Brigade’s Capita mobilising system has it crashed for a) less than one hour and b) longer than one hour?
Capita performance (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
The data for ‘unplanned service downtime’ of the Vision mobilising system is set out in the table below:
Vision mobilising system Unplanned Service Downtime (USD)
Less than one hour
2015 (part November/December only) 0
2016 3
2017 3
2018 3
2019 0
2020 (to end February 2020) 0
Capita performance (2)
Question No: 2020/1342
Andrew Dismore
How many hours in total has the Capita mobilising system used by the London Fire Brigade been non-functional since its introduction?
Capita performance (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
For the 18 occasions between November 2015 and February 2020 when there was unplanned service downtime with the Vision mobilising system (please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/1341), the total time the system was not available was 56 hours and 58 minutes.
Capita performance (3)
Question No: 2020/1343
Andrew Dismore
How many times has an engineer been required to attend London Fire Brigade’s control rooms to deal with a problem with the Capita mobilising system?
Capita performance (3)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
There is no specific data captured or held about the number of times engineers visit London Fire Brigade (LFB) control locations. Capita provide a wide range of support to the Vision mobilising solution including maintaining terminals used by Control staff at the London Operations Centre (and back-up control room), as well as the core mobilising servers, and supporting systems – Capita engineers therefore visit LFB’s control locations frequently. Engineers can also resolve issues remotely, so it is not always necessary to visit LFB premises.
Capita performance (4)
Question No: 2020/1344
Andrew Dismore
What is the average a) inner London and b) outer London attendance times for first and second appliances when London Fire Brigade Control Rooms are mobilising by hand due to a problem with the Capita mobilising system?
Capita performance (4)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
London Fire Brigade’s attendance time to incidents is calculated from the point a Control officer mobilises the first resource to an incident, so recorded attendance times should be unaffected by secondary (manual) mobilising arrangements. It could take slightly longer for control staff to mobilise appliances manually, but no specific data is captured about this performance.
In the time available, it has not been possible to collate the attendance times for every period when the Vision mobilising system was unavailable, but the London Fire Brigade (LFB) will write to you with the full analysis once it has been completed. Attendance times for inner and outer London on 15 February 2020 (when the Vision system was unavailable for 3 hours 17 minutes from 5am) are as set out in the table below (with comparable data from the same day in 2019).
First appliance Second appliance
Inner London Outer London
15 February 2019 04:53 05:25
15 February 2020 04:49 05:24
LFB policy note review completion
Question No: 2020/1345
Andrew Dismore
Please provide the expected publication date for London Fire Brigade updated policy notes 790, 633, and 539.
LFB policy note review completion
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Revised policy note 633 (PN 633) High Rise Firefighting was the subject of a London Fire Commissioner decision covering report and policy published on the 12 February 2020. The adoption date of 31 July 2020 for operational response is to allow time for operational staff to be trained in the policy.
Revised policy note 790 (PN 790) Fire Survival Guidance Calls is approaching its final draft stage, and is planned for release for formal consultation on 16 March, with an expected publication date of June 2020.
Policy note 539 (PN 539) Emergency Call Management is being replaced in its entirety, with the appendix relating to Fire Survival Guidance being incorporated into the revised PN 790. There are a number of appendices to PN 539, which are being systematically replaced with more robust policy notes specifically relating to Control (the first one being Fire Survival Guidance). It is anticipated that PN 539 will become obsolete by the end of the year as the appendices are replaced with new substantive policy notes.
Visits to buildings with stay put suspended (1)
Question No: 2020/1346
Andrew Dismore
How often do London Fire Brigade crews visit buildings where stay put is suspended?
Visits to buildings with stay put suspended (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
London Fire Brigade crews are informed when a premises on their station ground has a change of evacuation strategy, moving from stay put to simultaneous evacuation. Crews are provided with advice and guidance in relation to visiting the premises and ensuring that the waking watch is in place and functioning as per National Fire Chief Council’s (NFCC) guidance. Each watch on the station is directed to carry out familiarisation visits to the property and meet with the waking watch. For the first month this is at a rate of one visit per watch each week; from the second month onwards, this moves to two visits per month.
Visits to buildings with stay put suspended (2)
Question No: 2020/1347
Andrew Dismore
How many buildings is each London Fire Brigade station responsible for visiting owing to the suspension of stay put at those sites?
Visits to buildings with stay put suspended (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
The number of buildings the London Fire Brigade is responsible for visiting owing to the suspension of the buildings’ stay strategy in each station ground is shown in the following table.
Station Ground Number
Acton 1
Barking 4
Battersea 7
Bethnal Green 7
Brixton 2
Bromley 1
Chelsea 2
Clapham 3
Croydon 5
Dagenham 1
Deptford 2
Dockhead 4
Dowgate 3
Downham 2
Ealing 2
East Greenwich 6
East Ham 1
Erith 1
Euston 2
Fulham 2
Greenwich 7
Harrow 1
Heathrow 1
Heston 1
Holloway 5
Homerton 12
Ilford 1
Islington 3
Kensington 1
Kentish Town 1
Kingsland 3
Lambeth 3
Lewisham 5
Mill Hill 2
New Malden 25
Norbury 3
North Kensington 6
Northolt 1
Old Kent Road 4
Paddington 10
Park Royal 3
Peckham 5
Plaistow 2
Plumstead 9
Poplar 28
Richmond 1
Romford 7
Shadwell 2
Shoreditch 21
Soho 4
Southall 1
Stanmore 4
Stoke Newington 4
Stratford 16
Sutton 1
Tottenham 1
Walthamstow 1
Wandsworth 4
Wembley 8
West Hampstead 3
Whitechapel 3
Willesden 4
Woodside 1
Total: 286
Stay put suspension (1)
Question No: 2020/1348
Andrew Dismore
How many buildings in each borough have Stay Put suspended for reasons of ACM cladding? Please break this down by social and private sector.
Stay put suspension (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
London Fire Brigade is aware of 120 ACM-cladded buildings that have changed their evacuation strategy from stay put to simultaneous evacuation. Of those, 88 are within the private sector and 32 are within the social sector.
Borough Private Social Total
Barking and Dagenham 0 1 1
Barnet 2 1 3
Bexley 0 0 0
Brent 1 11 12
Bromley 0 1 1
Camden 1 0 1
City of London 0 0 0
Croydon 1 2 3
Ealing 3 0 3
Fulham 0 0 0
Greenwich 7 0 7
Hackney 1 4 5
Harrow 1 0 1
Havering 1 0 1
Hillingdon 0 0 0
Hounslow 0 0 0
Islington 5 1 6
Kensington and Chelsea 1 0 1
Lambeth 0 2 2
Lewisham 0 0 0
Newham 6 1 7
Redbridge 0 0 0
Richmond 0 0 0
Southwark 0 5 5
Sutton 0 0 0
Tower Hamlet 35 1 36
Waltham Forest 0 1 1
Wandsworth 13 1 14
Westminster 10 0 10
TOTALS: 88 32 120
Stay put suspension (2)
Question No: 2020/1349
Andrew Dismore
How many buildings in each borough have Stay Put suspended for reasons other than ACM cladding? Please break this down by social and private sector.
Stay put suspension (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
In total, London Fire Brigade is aware of 166 buildings that have changed their evacuation strategy from stay put to simultaneous for reasons other than ACM cladding. Of those, 88 are within the private sector and 78 are within the social sector.
Borough Private Social Total
Barking and Dagenham 3 0 3
Barnet 0 0 0
Bexley 0 1 1
Brent 14 0 14
Bromley 0 0 0
Camden 3 1 4
City of London 1 0 1
Croydon 2 4 6
Ealing 2 0 2
Fulham 0 2 2
Greenwich 11 0 11
Hackney 3 26 29
Harrow 1 0 1
Havering 7 0 7
Hillingdon 1 0 1
Hounslow 1 0 1
Islington 2 2 4
Kensington and Chelsea 1 1 2
Lambeth 0 0 0
Lewisham 6 6 12
Newham 7 5 12
Redbridge 1 0 1
Richmond 1 0 1
Southwark 6 5 11
Sutton 9 17 26
Tower Hamlets 0 8 8
Waltham Forest 0 0 0
Wandsworth 0 0 0
Westminster 6 0 6
TOTAL 88 78 166
Duration of stay put suspension
Question No: 2020/1350
Andrew Dismore
London Fire Brigade (LFB) and National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) have called out the extremely lengthy periods of time that buildings have required interim fire safety measures to address the suspension of stay put advice. Yet in response to question 2019/20477 you stated that LFB does not collect information on how long a building has had stay put suspended, depriving LFB and others of a useful source of information. Will you take steps to rectify this and record the data?
Duration of stay put suspension
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
The Government note ‘Advice for Building Owners of Multi-storey, Multi-occupied Residential Buildings’, published in January 2020, provides guidance for Responsible Persons and building owners with regard to informing Fire and Rescue Services of the introduction of interim measures.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) has seen an increase in the level of engagement from both Responsible Persons and building owners since the publication of the consolidated guidance. The LFB is are taking steps to record this information by making provision to record the date at which they were notified of these measures being introduced.
This will enable LFB to continue to monitor the length of time interim measures have been in place.
Numbers of state aid forms for cladding remediation
Question No: 2020/1351
Andrew Dismore
What is the a) modal average, b) highest and c) lowest number of state aid forms that have needed to be collected to progress remediation in private high-rise residential buildings accessing the GLA-administered fund?
Numbers of state aid forms for cladding remediation
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
State Aid declarations are only considered once a building owner submits a full application to the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. As of 10 March 2020, one building had reached this status. The building collected State Aid declarations from all units within the building.
Operational risk database (ORD) review
Question No: 2020/1352
Andrew Dismore
How many ORD entries for high rise premises have been reviewed since June 2017, and how many have been found to require further information?
Operational risk database (ORD) review
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
4,256 residential high-rise buildings have a premises risk assessment (PRA), of which 4,013 (94 percent) have been reviewed since the 14 June 2017. Not every building (or high-rise building) requires an Operational Risk Database (ORD) entry. The need for an ORD record is determined by the Brigade’s agreed ‘premises risk assessment’ (LFB policy 800). Following the PRA review, 1,300 ORD records have been updated.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) command unit recommissioning
Question No: 2020/1353
Andrew Dismore
How many command units are being procured for LFB and where will they be based?
London Fire Brigade (LFB) command unit recommissioning
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
All eight Command Units (CUs) plus the one existing reserve are being replaced. The new locations for CUs will be Plaistow, Holloway, Park Royal, Forest Hill, Richmond, Mitcham, Dockhead fire stations and one CU will be located at the London Operations Centre (LOC) Brigade Control. The reserve CU will be held at Ruislip.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) Control room relocation
Question No: 2020/1354
Andrew Dismore
What is the average time taken from the decision being made to relocate from Merton Control to Stratford Control, and the fallback centre being fully operational?
London Fire Brigade (LFB) Control room relocation
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Once the decision is taken to relocate Control from Merton to the fall-back location at Stratford, North West Fire Control (as our ‘buddy’ Control) will be informed and will take 999 emergency calls on behalf of London Fire Brigade. The Control team will then be taken on blue lights to Stratford (approximately 40 mins drive under blue light conditions). It is estimated that it would take approximately one hour from the decision to relocate being made to being able to receive calls and mobilise resources from Stratford. The fall-back Control room at Stratford is always immediately available for use in this way – either planned or unplanned.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) Control to incident commander communication
Question No: 2020/1355
Andrew Dismore
What progress has been made on providing a direct communication link between Control and the Incident Commander?
London Fire Brigade (LFB) Control to incident commander communication
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
There continues to be a direct communications link between London Fire Brigade Control and the Incident Commander (IC) via Airwave digital radios. On fire engines these radios are vehicle-mounted, whereas officers have handheld digital radios for this purpose. The revised Fire Survival Guidance (FSG) policy directs Control and the IC to a designated Airwave radio channel to facilitate the uninterrupted passing of FSG information between them. An FSG technology solution project is underway to develop an electronic system allowing the simultaneous recording and updating of FSG call information and actions being taken to resolve those calls. Control and ICs will be able to update this system in real time ensuring that there is a single electronic reference source for all FSG information. This solution is currently in development, with rollout anticipated by December 2020.
Multiple fire survival guidance (FSG) calls
Question No: 2020/1356
Andrew Dismore
Does the London Fire Brigade have a procedure for dealing with more FSG calls than it has Control operators on duty at any one time?
Multiple fire survival guidance (FSG) calls
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Dealing with multiple Fire Survival Guidance (FSG)calls is a key component of the new FSG policy. At present, London Fire Brigade (LFB) has well-rehearsed overflow arrangements with North West Fire Control, who would start to take 999 calls (including FSG calls) when LFB Control starts to receive a high volume of calls. To support these overflow arrangements, a new National Talk Group can be used for sharing risk critical information between Control rooms when they start to receive calls on behalf of LFB (or any other Fire and Rescue Service) in addition to normal ‘buddy arrangements.’ Furthermore, the on-duty Operations Manager and duty Senior Operations Manager will liaise closely with BT to manage the overflow of calls. For additional resilience, fire officers would also be mobilised into the London Operations Centre in Merton (or the fall-back Control room in Stratford) to support Control officers when handling a large number of FSG calls.
Resilience to coronavirus of emergency services
Question No: 2020/1357
Andrew Dismore
How will blue light staff get to work in the event of restrictions on travel owing to coronavirus?
Resilience to coronavirus of emergency services
The Mayor
Last updated: 19 March, 2020
This is a very fast moving emergency situation, so please note that this response was based on the developments and advice given at the time.
There is currently no suggestion that restrictions on travel will be imposed. The maintenance of essential services to enable London to function is core to the principle of any emergency response. This includes our highly resilient transport network. I continue to follow expert advice, and there is no suggestion that we should restrict travel to such an extent that critical employees such as the emergency services staff cannot get to work.
Government review of stay put
Question No: 2020/1358
Andrew Dismore
What participation does the London Fire Brigade have in the Government’s review of stay put and mass rescue operations and when is this project expected to produce a report and / or recommendations?
Government review of stay put
The Mayor
Last updated: 23 March, 2020
Fire and Rescue Services’ (FRS) involvement in the Government review is being coordinated through the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). London Fire Brigade is not part of the FRS steering group for this review, but will be providing information and subject matter expertise in support of the review when requested. There are no published timelines for reporting at present.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations for building owners (1)
Question No: 2020/1359
Andrew Dismore
How many buildings have implemented the steps, insofar as possible within the current legal and regulatory framework, recommended in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry?
Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations for building owners (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
The GLA does not monitor compliance so does not hold this data. However, given the urgency and importance of this issue, on Thursday 5 March 2020 I wrote directly to over 500 building owners and managers across London to draw their attention to the recommendations and urge them to take the necessary steps to offer the highest standards of fire safety. The letter is available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/letter_and_recommendations_from_the_mayor_of_london.pdf.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations for building owners (2)
Question No: 2020/1360
Andrew Dismore
What steps are the London Fire Brigade and the GLA taking to get building managers to implement the reforms in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry ahead of new legislation?
Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations for building owners (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
On Thursday 5 March 2020, I wrote to over 500 building owners and managers to draw their attention to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations and urge them to take the necessary steps to offer the highest standards of fire safety. Recipients included councils, housing associations, developers, private building owners on GLA estate, applicants to the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund and some managing agent trade bodies.
The letter and appended recommendations are available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/letter_and_recommendations_from_the_mayor_of_london.pdf.
Cladding remediation funds March update
Question No: 2020/1361
Andrew Dismore
Please state how much money has been a) allocated and b) disbursed and to how many buildings for the GLA-administered social and private sector ACM cladding remediation funds.
Cladding remediation funds March update
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
The GLA administers the Social and Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediations Funds (SSCRF and PSCRF) on behalf of the Government. The Government has allocated £1,119,247 of funding from the PSCRF, £49,496 of which has been disbursed. The Government has allocated £208,440,037 of funding from SSCRF, £90,278,997 of which has been disbursed.
These figures are accurate as of 10 March 2020.
Dangerous Cladding
Question No: 2020/1362
Andrew Dismore
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Government remedial fund, limited solely to ACM cladding on tall buildings is too restrictive and inadequate in quantum. Other types of cladding are often equally dangerous but are excluded; and residents are facing huge bills for ‘waking watch’ and other fire prevention works. Will you lobby the Government to extend and improve the scheme in London to allow other high fire risk buildings to be included?
Dangerous Cladding
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
I have long called for the existing cladding remediation funds to be extended. While it is welcome that the Government announced in the Budget an additional £1 billion for building safety, this is simply not sufficient. This funding only applies to buildings over 18m and I am concerned that most local authorities and housing associations will be ineligible for this funding on the basis that that they did the right thing by committing early on to protect leaseholders from costs.
Lark Court fire safety certification (1)
Question No: 2020/1363
Andrew Dismore
Notting Hill Genesis have failed to ensure an intrusive fire safety inspection has been carried out, resulting in my constituents being unable to remortgage, sell, or move. Do you agree that building management companies should address fire safety certification as a matter of urgency?
Lark Court fire safety certification (1)
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
I agree that building management companies should do everything they can to respond to requests for fire safety certification. I am, however, also aware that delays can occur for reasons beyond social landlords’ immediate control, including the lack of qualified experts available to carry out these inspections.
Given the scale of this national crisis, I have long called for the Government to take this seriously by providing a clear basis for prioritisation of buildings and addressing the competence and capacity issues in the supply chain.
Lark Court fire safety certification (2)
Question No: 2020/1364
Andrew Dismore
What more can you do to encourage building owners, like Notting Hill Genesis, to prioritise getting fire safety certificates for their buildings so that residents are not trapped in homes of unassessed safety?
Lark Court fire safety certification (2)
The Mayor
Last updated: 20 March, 2020
On Thursday 5 March, I wrote to over 500 building owners and managers across London setting out recommendations on building safety, informed by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report and other best practice. The letter is available at https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/letter_and_recommendations_from_the_mayor_of_london.pdf.
However, I recognise the challenges faced by social sector landlords to carry out inspections and remediation works, and I will continue to urge th

FacebookTwitterLinkedInShare