London Fire Brigade Headquarters
169 Union Street London SE1 0LL
T 020 8555 1200 F 020 7960 3602
Minicom 020 7960 3629
www.london-fire.gov.uk
London Fire Brigade is run by the London
Fire and Emergency Planning Authority
25 April 2014
Dear Sir/Madam,
Further to my previous letter, you will be aware that the Fire Brigade’s Union (FBU) has taken strike
action over government reforms to the firefighters’ pensions scheme and, as we previously informed
you, this will disrupt our firefighting and fire safety service. The FBU has now announced that it intends
to strike on the following days:
 Commencing 2nd May 2014 from noon until 5.00p.m.
 Commencing 3rd May 2014 from 2.00pm until 2.00a.m. on 4th May.
 Commencing 4th May from 10.00a.m. to 3.00p.m.
After that, the FBU will give seven days' notice of any further strike action.
During these and any future strike periods ‘CapitalGuard’ arrangements will be mobilised. The
provision known as ‘CapitalGuard’ is a contracted service that provides London with a contingency
level of fire and rescue services when required by the Authority. It is intended to provide a reduced
level of operational capability sufficient to fulfil the Authority’s basic statutory duties. This means that
27 fire engines (i.e 16% of our normal capacity) will attend a limited range of incidents and that, in the
first instance, the normal initial attendance to incidents will be just one fire engine. Attached is a list of
incidents that will attract a fire appliance attendance.
We are exploring all of the options to maximise the use of all available resources during the strike
action. This includes the crewing of additional fire and specialist appliances with non-striking
operational staff. The extent to which LFB will be able to enhance the service provided by the
CapitalGuard arrangements will vary on a daily basis dependant upon the available resources.
In addition to the above we have secured a recall arrangement with the FBU in the event that a largescale or major incident occurs during a strike period.
Alongside the contingency provision that we have made, we need to ask you to consider what
additional plans, resources and control measures you might need to take in your organisation during
periods of reduced fire cover to assist in reducing the risk of fire occurring.
We would like to draw your attention to important fire safety advice that you can encourage your
students and members of staff to remember:
 If you have a fire, call 999.
 If your escape is blocked by fire or smoke it may be safer to stay put until the fire brigade arrives.
Close the door and use soft materials to block any gaps to stop the smoke. Go to a window, call
for help, dial 999 and wait to be rescued.
 Take extra care – especially when you are cooking or smoking.
There are also some practical tips that you could pass on to your students and members of staff to help
them keep safe in their homes:
 Make sure that you have a smoke alarm, check that it works and change the battery if you need
to.
 Make sure you know how you would get out of your home/premises if there is a fire – and that
everyone in the property knows.
 Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully.
 Put candles out, use a snuffer or a spoon, it’s safer than blowing them out when sparks can fly.
 Double check the cooker is off.
 Turn heaters off and put up fireguards.
 Turn off and unplug electrical appliances, unless they are designed to be left on – like your
fridge.
 Close inside doors at night to stop a fire from spreading.
 Make sure exits are kept clear.
 Keep door and window keys where everyone can find them.
We would also ask that you include the following link on your website so that your students and
members of staff can access further fire safety advice if they need it. In addition we would be grateful
if you could share this information in any other communications you carry out in the run up to the strike
to ensure these messages are shared with the appropriate people.
www.london-fire.gov.uk/SafetyAtHome.asp
Passing this advice on will help keep your students and staff safer during any period of reduced fire
cover – and is good advice at all times.
You may also have responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. Fire risk
assessments and emergency plans for your premises should be based on ensuring appropriate
evacuation in case of fire without the need for Brigade assistance. You will wish to check that this is the
case, make any necessary adjustments and ensure that students and staff are aware of the risk
reduction measures for the premises and the actions they should take in case of fire.
It is important to stress that during the strike 999 is still the number to ring.
You can find further advice on all aspects of fire safety on our own website, london-fire.gov.uk. If you
would like to promote fire safety further by displaying posters and leaflets, please contact Shahmima
Begum on 0208 555 1200 ext 30773.
I hope this information proves helpful to you.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Brown
Third Officer
Head of Operations, Prevention & Response
Tel: 0208 555 1200 ext 30714
E:dave.brown@london-fire.gov.uk