Firefighting, Special Services and Fire Prevention
In 2010/11, the LFB handled a total of 212,657 emergency calls, including 5,241 hoax calls (although it only mobilised to 2,248 of those malicious false alarms). During the same period, it dealt with 13,367 major fires. There were 6,731 dwelling fires, including 748 that had been started deliberately; 73 people died in 58 fatal fires.
In addition to conflagrations, LFB firefighters respond to "special services".
A special service is defined as every other non-fire related emergency, such as:
- Lift releases (9,395 in 2010/11);
- Effecting entry/exit (7,276 in 2010/11);
- Flooding (6,956 in 2010/11);
- Traffic collisions (3,604 in 2010/11);
- Spills and leaks (1,479 in 2010/11);
- Assisting other agencies (855 in 2010/11);
- "Making safe" operations (782 in 2010/11);
- Animal rescues (583 in 2010/11);
- Hazardous materials incidents (353 in 2010/11);
- General evacuations (322 in 2010/11);
- Suicides or attempts (229 in 2010/11); and
- Waterborne rescues (38 in 2010/11).
The full scope of the brigade's duties and powers is enshrined in the Fire and Rescue Act 2004.
Firefighters and, in some cases, specialist teams from the brigade's fire investigation unit, based at Dowgate, also investigate arson incidents, often working alongside the police and providing evidence in court. In 2008/09, deliberate fires accounted for 28% of all those attended by the LFB, a 28% reduction on the previous year.
The other core duty of the brigade is to "prevent damage", and day-to-day fire prevention duties.
Read more about this topic: London Fire Brigade
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