We Save Lives not Banks! Firefighters on strike

Firefighters at local stations joined the national strike last night. Firefighters across England and Wales walked out on strike between 6.30pm and 11.00pm in the dispute about pensions. As with other groups of workers it's a case of people being expected to work longer for less - in this case to work until 60 rather than 55 or face pension cuts. Many firefighters may not be fit to do their job until they are 60, and under the scheme currently being pushed by employers those judged as unfit before the age of 60 could lose their job and therefore lose their full pension.

The banner on the picket line outside New Cross Fire Station read: 'We save lives not banks! Lewisham A&E saved, New Cross Fire Station Saved, People Power not Corporate Power, Support us and Make a Difference!'. A further strike has been called for next Monday morning from 6 am to 8 am.

Peckham Fire Station pickets last night

Southwark Fire Station on Strike

Cuming Museum Fire

Devastated by the news of the fire on the Walworth Road this afternoon. The old Walworth town hall building next to the Heygate Estate houses the Cuming Museum, and that part of the building seems to have been worst hit by the fire (photo above from SE1 on twitter).

Of course it's great that none of the people working there seem to have been hurt - the fire spread very quickly - and that the same applies to the many firefighters who have helped tackle the blaze (many of them from stations threatened by Boris Johnson's fire service cuts).

But the Cuming Museum is not just a great local history museum, it also houses two irreplaceable collections, the 19th century Cuming collection of weird and wonderful global artefacts and Edward Lovett's collection of objects associated with early 20th century London folklore. I spent some happy hours researching in the latter collection a few years ago for the Folklore Society's London Lore conference.

It seems inevitable that these collections will have been severely damaged at least, if not destroyed altogether.

Threat confirmed to South London Fire Stations

The threat to a large number of London fire stations first became apparent late last year, with the leaking of a report. Now the threat has been confirmed with the publication of the draft 'London Safety Plan', released today at the London Fire Brigade Headquarters. The draft plan includes proposals to close 12 London fire stations, with the loss of 520 firefighter and office jobs, in order to enforce Mayor Boris Johnson's cuts of £45m.

South London stations earmarked for closure include:

- New Cross;
- Downham;
- Southwark
- Woolwich;
- Clapham.

Along with Belsize, Bow,  Clerkenwell, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown and Westminster

It is clear that Peckham was also on the closure list, but has been spared because it would be politically unacceptable to close it at this time as  'This proposal would be under consideration in parallel with the Lakanal inquest (which starts on 14 January 2013)'. Peckham is now instead recommended to have the number of fire appliances reduced from two to one.

Six people died in the 2009 Lakanal tower block fire in Camberwell, with others being rescued by firefighters. Would as many have survived there, and at the Carrisbrooke Gardens fire in Peckham in the same year, if there had only been one fire engine in Peckham and no station at nearby New Cross from which to get back up? Or how about the 12 people rescued from a fire at a hostel in Lewisham Way, New Cross in November 2010?

In 2011/12, fire engines were mobilised from Lewisham's five stations on more than 6,300 occasions. If two of the five close - New Cross and Downham - there will inevitably be less cover available from the remaining three (Forest Hill, Deptford, Lewisham). The London Fire Brigade target is that the first fire engine should arrive at an incident within six minutes of being called - already in Lewisham they miss this target on more than one in five occasions (21%). With fire engines having to travel further to get to areas like New Cross and Brockley this performance can only get worse, putting lives at risk (Lewisham statistics here).

My local fire station in Queens Road in New Cross has been saving lives since it was built by the London County Council in 1894 (the picture below from Ideal Homes dates from 1903- apart from busier traffic outside it looks much the same today).  28 jobs would go there if it is closed.

With my local accident and emergency department also under threat at Lewisham Hospital I do feelthat my safety, and that of my neighbours, is being compromised. More broadly it's beginning to feel like the state is gradually withdrawing from this part of the world, at least in terms of community services and facilities, as fire stations, health services and libraries disappear!

There have already been a few meetings about saving local fire stations, including a public meeting in Peckham last November. Now the campaign will need to really get going.  The draft fifth London Safety Plan will be considered by the  London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on 21 January 2013. A public consultation will follow, with a final decision due to be taken in June 2013.

The Fire Brigades Union has called for a 'Save our fire service' demonstration on Monday 21 January outside the LFEPA meeting, assembling 1:30 pm at the London Fire Brigade HQ, 169 Union Street SE1.

South East London Fire Stations Under Threat

Tomorrow (Wednesday 7th November) firefighters from all over the country will be converging on London for a lobby of parliament in protest against cuts to the fire brigade. In London, a leaked report due to be considered by the London Fire Authority on 22 November recommends the closure of 17 stations with the loss of 600 jobs. South London will be particularly badly hit - local stations on the closure list include:

- New Cross (Lewisham borough);
- Downham (Lewisham borough);
- Peckham; (Southwark borough)
- Southwark (Southwark borough)
- Woolwich (Greenwich borough);
- Clapham (Lambeth borough).

It goes without saying that this will put lives at risk - by definition the further fire engines have to travel to the scene of a fire, the longer it will take to get there.

A key figure in the decision about London fire brigade cuts is South London Conservative James Cleverly, the Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority as well as leader of the London Assembly Conservative Group (he is the Member for Bexley and Bromley). Having failed to get elected in Lewisham as a councillor, mayor and MP, we hope he's not going to take his revenge by closing down fire stations - at the same time as some of his party colleagues are planning to close down the Accident & Emergency department in Lewisham Hospital (where incidentally Cleverly was born). I'm sure it's just a coincidence that all of the proposed South London closures are in Labour boroughs.