Charges for special services

The London Fire Brigade calls any incident that are not fires - "special services". Our charges for special services are outlined below.

We normally charge for the following types of special service:

• use of Brigade equipment to supply or remove water
• clearing of flooded commercial premises
• making structures safe in cases where there is no risk of personal injury to the public
• incidents involving chemical and hazardous materials (other than at domestic premises)
• other "miscellaneous" special service incidents.

Exemptions from charging are only made in the following circumstances:

Chemical/hazardous material incidents

• where there is an immediate danger of fire
• when the incident is in a person's home
• when immediate action is required to save life or avoid immediate and imminent risk of injury.

Other special services:

• where there is danger of fire
• when elderly, disabled or infirm people are involved
• when people are involved who are in receipt of unemployment benefits, income support or training grant
• when full-time students are involved
• where there are other humanitarian or safety reasons.

If you are locked out of your premises do not call the London Fire Brigade unless there is a danger of fire or there is a life-threatening situation. No service will be provided unless these circumstances exist.

If you are locked out in normal circumstances, you will need to contact a locksmith. Locksmiths are listed in trade directories (Yellow Pages, Thompsons), online (http://www.yell.com/) or talking pages service (Freephone) 0800 600 900.

Charges

The current year (2005/06) charges for special services are as follows:

• Provision of special service(s) at domestic premises - £284 +VAT per incident
• Provision of special service(s) at commercial premises - £284 +VAT per appliance per hour or part hour

back to top