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Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Answer

Harry Cohen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire stations there are in North East London; how many fire engines are located in them; how many Green Goddesses would be expected to cover the area in the event of these fire engines not being deemed to be available due to a national strike of firefighters; and if he will make a statement. [78463] Mr. Raynsford: The London Fire Brigade has forty- one fire engines at twenty-six fire stations in the London Boroughs of Havering, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets. Emergency cover in Greater London is currently planned to consist of a number of elements including 90 Green Goddess crews, 20 breathing apparatus teams (BARTs), a rescue team equipped with specialist equipment (a REST) and the police. Of these, sixteen Green Goddesses and four BARTs would be located in the above boroughs, with a further seven Green Goddesses and two BARTs located just outside those boundaries. The provision of MoD emergency fire cover has been planned in consultation with the Chief Fire Officer to minimise call-out times and maximise the availability of a range of firefighting capabilities. The command and operational structure for emergency fire cover has been designed to enable maximum flexibility and use of available resources, whether from within a county or from assets deployed nearby in neighbouring counties. The deployment of firefighters will be based on the assessment of how best to respond to an emergency in the quickest time possible. The deployment will be kept under review.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

78463; 392 c409-10W;392 c421W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Armed forces Greater London Industrial disputes Fire and rescue services Vehicles Strikes Fire stations

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk