Hackney Labour councillors are intent on saving Kingsland Fire Station as they urged residents to join an online protest against its potential closure.
According to a memo leaked a fortnight ago, Kingsland is among 17 stations across the capital earmarked for abolition as part of plans by London mayor Boris Johnson to save £65 million.
Speaking at a Council meeting on 24 October, Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe castigated the plans, declaring: “We know that there are more fires in the south of the borough.”
However, while Kingsland staff were called out to 720 incidents in the last 12 months, that figure represents a small proportion of Hackney’s 4,502 call-outs since August 2011.
The London Fire Brigade will hold crucial discussions next month, but De Beauvoir Councillors took matters into their own hands on Sunday, posting both a petition and downloadable posters on their website.
In an accompanying statement, councillors Tom Ebbutt, Rob Chapman and Gulay Icoz feared that their ward could be isolated dangerously. Some locals might even be forced to rely on Stoke Newington station, almost two miles north of Kingsland.
“We are very concerned by reports that the Mayor of London has decided to close De Beauvoir’s Kingsland Road Fire Station,” it read.
“If it were to close, the nearest fire stations to the area would be Old Street, Stoke Newington or Homerton,”
“All three are a significant distance away, which would increase response times, thereby increasing the risk of causing serious harm or loss of life in the area.”
Although the London Fire Brigade conceded “facing a need to make savings”, it also vowed to preserve standards and insisted that no cut-backs had been confirmed.
“We expect to be able to maintain our current target response times,” a spokesperson explained.
“No decisions about any possible fire station closures have yet been taken. Before they are, there will be a full public consultation.”
