The Mayor of London should consider giving firefighters access to specialist housing in the capital to better prepare the city’s response to a future terror attack.
The newly published Harris review into London’s preparedness for an attack has sounded alarm bells about the lack of emergency service workers who live in the capital and the impact their absence would have following a terror attack.
The majority of firefighters commute into the city for their shifts, due to the cost of living and soaring property prices and rents. The Harris review says this could inhibit the London Fire Brigade’s response to a major incident where large numbers of firefighters may be recalled for duty.
Paul Embery, secretary of the FBU in London, said: “It is a national scandal that the majority of emergency services personnel cannot afford to live in the city they help protect. The Harris report has made clear how difficult it would be for LFB to recall all the firefighters it needs to tackle major incidents. We have firefighters commuting into work from as far away as Scotland because they cannot afford to live in the capital.”
The Harris report also raised concerns that a new emergency services radio system, scheduled for implementation next year, may not work on the Underground. Emergency services were heavily criticised after the 7/7 bombings, when their communications equipment broke down under ground.
Embery added: “Where there is potential for such a large scale threat to human life, such as that posed by the terror threat, we need a radio system we can rely on. That means that it needs to work underground. Anything less is potentially disastrous.”
