Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prime Minister and the Mayor of London have been among the high profile figures visiting London’s firefighters to personally thank them for their work during the recent civil disturbances.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson has described the unrest as one of the “busiest and most unpleasant” periods that the Brigade has experienced.
During three consecutive days of disturbances, the capital’s firefighters dealt with over 100 serious fires, attending huge blazes in Enfield, Croydon and Clapham Junction as well as other serious fires in Ealing, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Merton and Southwark. Meanwhile the Brigade’s 999 Control Officers received more than 5,000 emergency calls over a four day period from Saturday, 6 August.
The visit by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to Croydon Fire Station on Wednesday (17 August) followed visits by Prime Minister David Cameron to meet crews and other members of the emergency services at Tottenham Fire Station. Earlier in the week the Prime Minister met fire crews still working down at London Road in Croydon – one of the areas worst hit by the unrest.
Other visits saw Mayor of London Boris Johnson meeting fire crews at Stoke Newington, Fire Minister Bob Neill going to Woolwich Fire Station, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles calling at Edmonton Fire Station and Home Secretary Theresa May visiting fire crews at the scene of the Sony warehouse fire in Enfield.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, Deputy Commissioner Rita Dexter and Chairman of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Brian Coleman also met Brigade staff to thank them for their excellent work during this difficult period.
