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Across London Fire Brigade, staff are mourning the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Over the coming days we are proud to honour her memory by playing a critical role in preparing for her funeral, keeping Londoners and their guests safe and protected as they pay their final respects.
London Fire Brigade is proud to be the lead agency for search, rescue and hazard management response for the events.
Many hundreds of our people are involved, from Firefighters and Officers to Fire Inspectors and Engineers, Control staff at the London Operations Centre, IT, and our Communications team.
We work together as one team across the Brigade, proud to play our part in the broad partnership of organisations working so hard to provide a fitting tribute to the late Queen’s lifetime of service.
UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022
The Queen’s funeral will bring millions of people to London. Some to work, and some to visit; we will protect them all.
Our Fire Safety Inspectors got to work right away, auditing and inspecting both new and existing buildings (158 so far) to minimise the risk of fire. This included:
This significant task has been achievable in record time thanks to the use of the latest technology – 999Eye. Recently introduced to allow officers to view fire incidents remotely, the technology has been used by Fire Safety Inspectors who can now conduct multiple inspections quickly and effectively, and they have already issued a number of prohibition notices to premises at risk of fire. That includes at least six enforcements notices and 17 Notification of Fire Deficiencies (NOD).
Technical Fire Safety Engineers are supporting our Operational Resilience colleagues by reviewing fire and evacuation strategies at key locations and are operating 24 hours a day.
The opportunity to pay your private respects to the Queen as she lies in state is being taken up by tens of thousands of people. Members of the public have travelled from miles to take their place in a queue that exceeds four miles and takes 30 hours at times.
Our crews are on hand to help, with firefighters and appliances at ten points along the queue, 24 hours a day. Every station in London is playing its part, which means 40 relief rotations and 160 engine movements each day to ensure they’re in the right place at the right time. And they’re all still available for operational response if they’re needed.
We’ll also have volunteers at the main transport hubs at the weekend, supporting the GLA team providing wayfinding and welfare support.
London Fire Brigade has a target to reach incidents within six minutes; a target we’re maintaining across London throughout these events. However, in the immediate vicinity of the events, and particularly during the processions, we move our fire engines to strategic positions so that we can provide an instant response if needed.
Our fire boats are also on hand, patrolling the River Thames alongside the queues, on hand to provide support.
Away from Central London, we have detailed plans in place to continue to deliver our service uninterrupted whilst crews support the events.
UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022
We’re proud that two members of London Fire Brigade staff will take their place in the funeral procession on Monday. They are representing fire and rescue staff from across the United Kingdom, along with 14 colleagues from other fire and rescue services. A further 200 Brigade staff will line the route of the procession.
As we make our contribution to these historic events, we keep in mind His Majesty King Charles III and the rest of the Queen’s family, and the personal loss they have experienced amidst these very public events. Our thoughts are with them.
© London Fire Commissioner 2022
London Fire Brigade joins the nation to mourn the sad passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this difficult time.