Friday, June 14, 2013

Proposed Closure of Kingsland Fire Station

The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority is consulting on Boris Johnson's plans to close 12 fire stations across London, reduce the number of fire engines by 18 and reduce the number of firefighters by 460.

Under his plans, the number of fire stations in London would go from 151 to 100 and Kingsland Fire Station would close.  Whitechapel, Leyton and Leytonstone Stations would also have their fire engines reduced from two to one.

You can read the full proposal here.

We believe that these reductions pose a danger for hackney as response times for the first appliance will increase by 11 second and by 23 seconds for the second appliance. 

We also believe that these plans will put the safety of our local community at risk and we oppose the measures set out in the consultation document.

We commend the efforts of fire fighters who worked hard to put out the fire that started in Thomas Fairchild School in 2009 but are concerned that, should there be a fire on the same magnitude any where in the borough at some point in the future,  fire fighters' efforts would be hindered by the closure of this crucial station.

As the consultation period comes to an end, we urge you to look at the full proposal for closing fire stations online here and take a few minutes to respond here. The consultation closes in a few days.

If like hundreds of local people, you want to back Hackney's campaign to save Kingsland Fire Station, you can sign the petition here.