Fire Brigade say They Can Cope with London Riots

There will be no increase in the number of Fire Fighters on call tonight as the London Fire Brigade insist they can "cope".

LFB experienced its "busiest night in recent history" with a 15 times increase in the normal rate of 999 calls on Monday night, answering 2,169 calls between 6pm on Monday night and 7.19am on Tuesday.

Despite this, a spokesperson for LFB said: "Our normal resources are able to cope. So there are no plans to increase the number of staff."

Cllr Brian Coleman, Chairman and Leader of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, said: "Last night's events were unprecedented. We received thousands of 999 calls and our crews dealt with major fires right across London.

"Our staff worked throughout the night and have shown nothing but dedication and absolute professionalism. They are a credit to the London Fire Brigade and a credit to the whole of London."

Similarly, London Ambulance Service said they experienced a 6-7 percent increase in service requirements on Monday but that they are not recalling staff from leave.

A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: "We only experienced a slight increase in calls last night, between 7pm and 3am, and therefore we do not have extra staff on tonight. The real issue for us was about reaching patients as in some areas we could not get to patients without police assistance."

Hospitals around London have said that they did not experience any significant increase in the number of A&E patients last night.

A spokesperson for Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: "We have a well-rehearsed plan that will be put in place should a major incident be formally declared."

A spokesperson for the Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust said that they experienced only three incidents directly resulting from the riots and that the Hospital would be carrying on "as usual".

It seems the police service is the hardest hit emergency service, with the Prime Minister announcing plans to increase the number of police on the streets from 6000 to 16000 for Tuesday night.

Fire crews attended a number of fires across the capital including huge blazes in Enfield, Croydon and Clapham Junction. Several serious fires were also attended in Ealing, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Merton and Southwark.

Of the 12 major fires attended, one fire in Enfield required eleven fire engines just before midnight, one fire in Croyden required ten fire engines, one fire in Wandsworth required eight fire engines, three fires in Croyden, Ealing and Barking and Dagenham required six fire engines, and fires in Croyden, Greenwich, Merton and Southwark required four fire engines.

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