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The Cutty Sark fire had at least 10 fire engines maybe more to get it under control, which they did very quickly (I was watching from my window!) a few fires like that and resources would be stretched to breaking point and maybe with any proposed cuts beyond. It riles me that there are sanctimonious members of the public like Mo and Bob out there airing there uneducated..TBC

- James, Greenwich, London

I really cant believe What I've been reading, They have survived the last few weeks without 50 (1/3) fire engines so lets get rid of them completely? How utterly obtuse. The London Fire Brigade MAY be coping, just, when there are a low level of calls but what about when there are more incidents, and incidents that require a large amount of Fire Engines and dare I say it more than one occurring simultaneously.

- James, Greenwich, London

Perhaps Mo from Harrow should have popped into Harrow fire station to thank firefighters for fitting her free smoke alarm? Though if she'd have gone in last week when the blue watch were on duty, she'd have realised that Harrows fire engine was unavailable due to the brigade not having enough officers to crew it.
I hope you enjoyed the free smoke alarm and free advice though Mo. Couldn't you be bothered to fit one yourself?

- Mark, London

Bob and Mo, sorry to say this but please don't try and say the Brigade don't need these pumps as you obvioulsy haven't a clue what your talking about. When the London Fire Brigade get a big job all the appliances that are needed are there ready to go and its time that matters with Fire and the London Fire-fighters are good at one thing and thats dealing with the unknown and putting there lives at risk and always going beyond the call of duty to help as thats what most of them joined for. And as for five fire-fighters to put a smoke alarm up thats only because most people are to tight to go and buy one from the local diy shop, they should be for the needed people. So direct your comments to B Coleman who can answer why we send five fire-fighters and a truck to fit a £8.00 smoke alarm.

- Tony, London UK

There ARE up to 50 fire engines out of action and 15 stations shut at various times due to a work to rule by a small group of officers who have, as required by the LFB informed them that they no longer wish to be considered for temporary promotion which is purely voluntary.
This has been caused by the actions of the Victorian workhouse style managers in the London Fire Brigade, only they had forgotten that the service has only been able to survive being understaffed due to the sheer goodwill of its employees carrying out additional duties.
Despite all this goodwill the employer’s plan to unilaterally impose shift changes on its personnel that would see a day shift increase from 9 to 12 hours meaning that some fire-fighters would have to put kids into childcare for around 16 hours per day!, this forms part of their "family friendly policies” They also plan major cutbacks to the service that should please Bob and Mo.
The Chief Victorian is the chairman of the LFEPA, appointed by Boris Johnson; Mr Brian Coleman. If a fire-fighter had conducted him/her whilst on duty in the way Mr Coleman conducts himself in office the result would be dismissal from the service.
£8000 on taxi fares, a £400 taxi fare whilst he ate dinner and had the taxi wait on meter and all billed to the Fire Brigade, he also had to be ordered by the Mayor to hand in his accounts as he appeared to be reluctant to do so and as he says "its none of our business how he spends public money"

- Dave, London UK

I see the usual comments come out, if the machines are off the run just cut them. If you look back just a few years you called the ambulance thet arrived, the police the same. After they have been "improved" you can wait a lifetime for either.

This isnt about money it is about protecting the service you are paying for. People of London beware, if the current measures are brought in London will have vastly reduced cover and instead of 1 appliance in 5 and 2 in 7 mins. How does "how serious is your fire, if you can still talk it cant be that bad. The machine will be there in 10 mins" its the future people.

As a firefighter i dont like seeing machines off the run but we are working to our contracts not a "work to rule" this just shows how much the brigade relies on our good will and how we are working on the limit all the time.

If you want more info visit your station and ask them what is happening dont believe everything you read. We are not all left wing union militants

- Mark, Outer London

If it was such a simple task Mo, Why didn't you fit the alarm yourself? Lets hope that you never have to call the Fire Brigade and if you do, you would understand what a great job they do. They are an insurance for every person in london. What would you comments be if they cut 50 Engines across london and we had another terror attack which streached the brigade to its limit. Maybe you should do some research and actually find out what these men and women do day in day out.

- Russell, Grays

reading a couiple of the above posts,i realy think you have to be careful what you wish for here.ther fire brigade and life guards are now the only emergency service that respond immediately to every reported incident.you may think that fire services could cut,but remember they will be cutting the frontline service that you or your family may one day be desperate for.look to how the police and ambulance services performwhen respon ding to calls for help.I can speak from personal experience and know that police and ambulance prioritise unlike fire.good luck in the future we may need it

- Ed, orpington uk

Let's hope your home doesn't catch fire then Mo if you think the service should be cut. Fire appliances are positioned to allow them to respond in a very short period of time which is vitally important considering the speed at which fire spreads. You want to cut 50 Fire engines and allow great numbers of people to die? Probably not huh?
With regards to fitting smoke alarms, this is a service provided to the public to save lives, which they do on a regular basis, should the Fire Brigade stop doing that as you question the logic?

- Graham, London, UK

Some of these comments are extremely naive. Just because a 'catastrophe' hasn't occurred in the last few days, does that mean it will never happen? How dangerously complacent.

What if we had another 7/7? Would some of you people be so confident that the brigade could cope without all these fire engines.

The fire service is an insurance policy. You don't need it all the time, but when things go badly wrong, you need as many engines as you can get.

Like most other public sector workers, firefighters terms and conditions are under constant attack. These people protect us every day. They should be treated fairly and given the proper resources to do the job.

- Richard Banks, Maida Vale

Bob Hillingdon, Mo Harrow,
Hope you enjoy the "FREE" smoke alarms that were fitted at your homes.
Interestingly you didnt want to pay a whole £5 for one in town but were happy to have one at the tax payers expense and then to bad mouth your local firefighters who fitted them for you.
Perhaps you should pop down there and tell them what you really think of them and perhaps let them know you wont require their service in an emergency.

- Dave, London UK

Fitting smoke alarms and giving fire safety advice is one of many services we provide; we do it as a crew, and in a fire engine, so that we can always be on call if there is an emergency, and it is cheaper to do that than buy new vehicles for the purpose.
As for being able to manage with fifty less engines, the brigade is a response force; we act when an emergency happens, therefore there will always be times when engines are doing nothing, or firefighters have time to drink a cup of tea while they talk to you about fire safety, but it is if a serious incident occurs that those engines and firefighters will be needed - at which point they will risk their lives to save yours, regardless of your attitude toward them.
Mo from Harrow, as for wishing to see the fire service cut, I hope that you never need to find out, stuck in a lift, injured in a car crash, trapped somewhere, stuck at height, locked out, flooded or stuck under water, or burning to death, why any decent society will always have plenty of firefighters on standby, ready to help...

- David Murphy, London, UK

Just remember that Boris is in charge of the fire service no doubt these cuts are no different to the cuts in the police he is making.

- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

Good point Bob from Hillingdon.
I can not believe that all these fire engines are needed,if they can survive for so long with 50 engines less,make the cut permanent.
In the face of this "meltdown", to use the Union mans own description,they still managed to send 5 men and an engine to fit my smoke alarm.
Whilst I am grateful for this free service,I must question the logic of the resources allocated to such a simple task.
It could only happen in a Public service,as this type of waste would not be tolerated in the Private sector.
I see from the standard website that 400 Police jobs are going,I know which service I would rather see cut.

- Mo, Harrow UK

If London has survived for the past month with "50 pumps off the run every shift" to quote the FBU. Does this mean that the brigade is over resourced by 50 pumps? I have not read of any major catastophe during this period and would suggest that the Brigade look closely at the number of fire engines it needs. It surely can't need all of the 50 that are currently unavailable and have been for the past month.

- Bob, Hilingdon, UK

In reply to Mo from Harrow this is just another service we now provide our communities on top of emergency calls I am sure they also gave you plenty of fire safety tips to broaden your knowlledge on how to stay safe in an emergency situation.Lets hope your fire station is manned when you need it most and you dont have to wait an extra 5 minutes.It is still the only service you can get to your property in 5 minutes if needed support the cause.

- Paul Murphy, new malden surrey

I do not think the situation is as bad as the Union are making out.
On Monday I had a free smoke alarm fitted by the Fire Brigade.
I was staggered when a fire engine turned up with 5 firemen on it just to screw up my alarm!
They told me they might have to rush off at any second to deal with an emergency,in the end they stayed for nearly an hour without being interrupted.
I think they would still be there now if I had'nt said "I've run out of tea".

- Mo, Harrow UK

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