Published: 18 July 2013

EXCLUSIVE By WILLIAM McLENNAN

FIREFIGHTERS will be sent out to answer emergency calls in Mini Coopers under new plans by the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade aimed at plugging holes in the service’s budget.

The scheme, which has drawn immediate comparisons with the impossible manoeuvres made by the small cars in classic British movie The Italian Job, would begin in Camden and Westminster.

Last night (Wednesday), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said they would only be of use in very small fires.

Union rep Paul Embery said: “The fact is they’re not able to carry the range of equipment necessary or the number of personnel necessary to be able to tackle a fire when they get there.”

The move comes after another blow was dealt to those hoping to convince City Hall to reprieve Belsize fire station when it was kept on a revised closure list issued last week. Only Clapham and New Cross were spared.

The plan to use Mini Coopers carrying two firefighters and a limited amount of equipment as Initial Response Vehicles (IRVs) is tabled in the small print of the revised plan.

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Ron Dobson said in the document: “We are also considering the introduction of a pilot project in which three of our Mini Cooper initial response vehicles would be located in the Borough of Camden and the City of Westminster and would be the first vehicle to respond to a call from an automatic fire alarm.”

The plans will now have to be voted on by the 17 politicians of the London Fire Authority, which includes Camden Council leader Sarah Haywood, and could be rolled out across London if trials prove successful.

Mr Embery, the Fire Brigades Union’s regional secretary, said the use of under-equipped vehicles would put firefighters in the impossible position of deciding to put their lives at risk by “cutting corners” and tackling a blaze without the necessary equipment, or “hanging around on the pavement” watching a fire develop.

He said: “We are instinctively dubious about it, because our view is that the Fire Brigade needs to be equipped by proper fire appliances, with the proper range of equipment.”

He said: “In the not-too-distant future we could find ourselves with fewer fire engines and more and more Minis. That then becomes really dangerous.”
Doubt was also cast on the plans by London Assembly member Murad Qureshi, who said: “While a Mini may well get to an incident quicker – just like they did in The Italian Job – I can’t imagine how the Minis can carry the same amount of kit that a fire engine does, nor numbers of firefighters and give Londoners the reassurance that once it arrives it’s got what’s needed for the job.”

In the famous Michael Caine film, drivers trying to escape with gold bullion drive Mini Coopers down steps and through tunnels as part of an elaborate getaway in Turin.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: “We used five Mini Coopers successfully during the Olympics to deal with small incidents on the Olympic Park. We’re now looking at how the cars could be used in the future and plans for a pilot project are being looked at. As part of the pilot, three of the cars could be located in Camden and Westminster to act as first response vehicles to calls from automatic fire alarms.”

* Camden firefighters in “smart dress uniform” will march against the cuts today (Thursday) supported by  pipe and drum band. It leaves at 11.30am from The Monument in the City of London, to the London Fire Brigade HQ in Union Street for a rally around 1pm.