London Fire Brigade

"LFB" redirects here. For other uses, see LFB (disambiguation).

London Fire Brigade
Operational area
CountryEngland
CityLondon
AddressUnion Street, SE1
Agency overview[2]
Established1833; 191 years ago (1833)
Employees5,992
Annual budget£389.2 million (2014-15)[1]
CommissionerAndy Roe[3]
Facilities and equipment[2]
Divisions5
Stations102 plus 1 river station[4]
Engines142[4]
USAR14
Fireboats2
Website
www.london-fire.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992 staff, including 5,096 operational firefighters and officers based at 102 fire stations (plus one river station).[2][5][4]

The LFB is led by the Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning, a position currently held by Andy Roe. The brigade and Commissioner are overseen by the Greater London Authority, which in 2018 took over these responsibilities from the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA).[6]

In the 2015-16 financial year the LFB received 171,488 emergency calls. These consisted of: 20,773 fires, 48,696 false alarms of fire and 30,066 other calls for service.[7][8] As well as firefighting, the LFB also responds to road traffic collisions, floods, shut-in-lift releases, and other incidents such as those involving hazardous materials or major transport accidents. It also conducts emergency planning and performs fire safety inspections and education. It does not provide an emergency medical service as this function is performed by the London Ambulance Service, an independent organisation, although all LFB firefighters are trained in first aid and all of its fire engines carry first aid equipment. Since 2016, the LFB has provided first aid for some life-threatening medical emergencies (e.g. cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest).[9]

  1. ^ "2014/15 Budget". London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Who we are". London Fire Brigade. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ^ "First woman takes over at London Fire Brigade as chief retires after almost a decade". London Evening Standard. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c London Fire Commissioner (5 July 2021). "Statement of Accounts 2020–2021" (PDF). London Fire Brigade. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Who we are". Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014. any of our 8,000 firefighters
  6. ^ "Governance - London Fire Commissioner". www.london-fire.gov.uk.
  7. ^ "LFEPA" (PDF). www.london-fire.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  8. ^ "London Datastore". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  9. ^ "News". www.london-fire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.