The station, 500 meters from the Chalcots estate, was closed in 2014

A SENIOR Camden firefighter has said that the Grenfell Tower tragedy and emergency evacuation of thousands of people from tower blocks in Swiss Cottage expose the “devastating impacts of cuts to the brigade”.

Camden Council discovered fire safety defects in Chalcots estate blocks yesterday, which along with the discovery of dangerous cladding similar to that installed on Grenfell Tower, led an estimated 4,000 people to be evacuated from more than 700 homes last night with little or no notice.

The firefighter, who spoke to the New Journal on the condition of anonymity today [Saturday], said: “Everyone is talking about Grenfell and rightly praising the brigade for their reaction. They did amazingly. But no one is asking the question, what would have happened if there was a second incited at the same time? There was nothing left. We had very little fire cover for London.”

Pointing to the decision of Boris Johnson, who as Mayor of London pushed through the closure of ten fire stations – including Belsize which is 500 metres from the Chalcots estate – the firefighter said: “If we hadn’t had ten stations cuts we would have 10 to 15 more appliances [fire engines] to provide cover.”
He added: “Boris Johnson single handedly did this.”

His thoughts were echoed by Janice Davidson, who was evacuated from the 21st floor of Taplow Tower last night.

She told the New Journal: “The closure of the fire station was unbelievable and now they are turning them into luxury flats. It’s beyond belief. They need to make a compulsory re-purchase of the station and re-open it immediately. We are living in a five block village and there isn’t a fire station. We want our fire station back.”

Ms Davidson said she was rescued from an earlier fire at Taplow in 2012 by crews from Belsize fire station. She said: “If the fire station wasn’t around the corner then, I wouldn’t be sat here talking to you know.”

The New Journal posed the question of wether the London Fire Brigade had the resource to respond to two large-scale incidents simultaneously as part of the Thin Red Line investigation in November 2015. The Conservative politician, now serving as Theresa May’s foreign secretary, refused to answer, even when chased through the streets by a reporter.

The issue of fire brigade funding has been centre stage since the devastating fire in Kensington last week that claimed an estimated 79 lives.