The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the statutory fire and rescue service for London.
The LFB was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act of 1865 under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. Today, the LFB is the largest of the fire services in the United Kingdom and the fourth-largest in the world (after the Tokyo Fire Department, New York City Fire Department and Paris Fire Brigade) with nearly 7,000 staff, including 5,800 operational firefighters based at 112 fire stations.
Ron Dobson is the Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning, which includes the position of Chief Fire Officer, since replacing Ken Knight in 2007. Statutory responsibility for the running of the brigade lies with the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
In 2010/11 the LFB handled 212,657 999 calls. Of the calls it mobilised to, 27,563 were fires, including 13,367 of a serious nature, making it one of the busiest fire services in the world. In the same period, it received 5,241 hoax calls, the highest number of any UK fire service, but only mobilised to 2,248 of them.
As well as firefighting, the LFB also responds to traffic collisions, floods, "trapped in lift" releases and other incidents such as those involving hazardous materials, and major transport accidents. It also conducts emergency planning and performs fire safety inspections and education. It does not provide an ambulance service as this function is performed by the London Ambulance Service as an independent NHS trust, although all firefighters are trained in first aid and all fire engines carry first aid equipment including basic resuscitators.
Read more about London Fire Brigade: Organisation, Legislative Powers, History, Firefighting, Special Services and Fire Prevention, Fire Stations, Regional Control Centre, Major or Notable Incidents, In Popular Culture
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