Editor's Note: June 14, 2017 shocked the world took place in London Glenn Phil rise apartment fire, causing heavy casualties. This is the largest number of casualties in the UK since World War II. To learn, now share a fandango comrades article in August 2014 issued by China Fire. China's development is in a critical period of transition. This article is for your comrades!
The original is as follows:
January 9, 2014, London will become an important day in the history of the fire - from the 9:30 start, 10 fire stations were permanently closed, 552 firefighters were laid off, so that the fire station in London reduced to 102 Firefighters were reduced to 5,800 .
(According to the British Bureau of Statistics figures, as of June 30, 2015, the London population was estimated to be 8,674,000 people).
To witness the history of London's largest fire station abolition of action, January 8, there are a lot of reporters came to the imminent closure of the firehouse, firefighters on duty track record of life on the last day. The firefighters who were about to break up were sad to leave each other and took photos with the fire trucks that had been together. Many of the Londoners who walked in and stopped stopped to express thanks and blessings to the firefighters. There were also commemorative candles that were sent. Homemade commemorative cards, many ways of vehicles also honking homage.
The Clerkenwell Fire Station is located in Islington, a major residential area in Inner City, London and is also closed this time. The fire station built in 1872 has a history of 140 years. It is London's oldest fire station and has experienced the vicissitudes of life of the modern London fire brigade. In the firehouse attic thick wooden shelves, 70 years ago, carved traces still legible - "Tom Sayers looked at this missile June 25, 1944.."
Liao Liao several words, as if to bring people back to the era of war. Now 104-year-old Jack Corbett, is still alive and age of the oldest of London firefighters, they work in克勒肯å¨å°”fire station during World War II, he recalled those days in an interview: Nazi Germany The bombers and the V1 and V2 missiles bombarded London. When the citizens hid in the air-raid shelters, firefighters would continue to observe the fire and put out fires. Jack Corbett expressed deep regrets for the closure of the Clerkenwell Fire Station.
At about 6:05 in the morning , when London was still shrouded in the pale blue sky before dawn, the bells in the Clerkenwell fire station ringed and the firefighters dispatched a traffic accident. This was their last mission. .
(Note: London citizen Suzi said: At he cost of saving money, lives will be put at risk, response times will increase. If this station was not used and the men sat round doing nothing all day one could understand the reason for closure. But they are not, the are busy, capable of getting to serious callouts in a few minutes; they are right in the centre of the City. Where they are needed .
While saving costs, life will be at risk and response time will increase. If the firefighters at this fire station are doing nothing all day, the public can understand the reason for the closure. However, they are very busy and can attend in minutes ; they are in the center of the city and are needed. )
It was time to break up. Alex Berdkock, a firefighter who had been working there for 29 years , was in tears. He sobbed. "This fire station is elegant and old, today is the saddest thing for us. At that moment, Bowles couldn't understand what he did.†And the accusation of Paul Embri, secretary of the British fire-fighting union's London area, was even more acute: "Mayor Bowles' hands will be full of blood, and who can promise to close it? After 10 fire stations and the reduction of nearly 600 fire fighters, it will not affect the fire safety in London. Sooner or later, there will be incidents in which the public will suffer unnecessary casualties due to untimely rescue. This is only a matter of time."
The media’s reports are intertwined with public concerns about security and sympathy for unemployed firefighters. But sentiment, questioning, and accusations have no use. The closure of 10 fire stations at the same time marks the conclusion that the mayor of Boris Johnson and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Commission have finally settled over one year. Looking back at the entire process, we can get a more complete understanding of London's fire protection system and understand the operating mechanisms of British local government in public firefighting affairs.
As a country that has played an important role and influence in the world’s modern and modern history, since the bourgeois revolution of the 17th century, Britain has better grasped the historical opportunities and made changes in the political and socio-economic system earlier. The forefront of the world is the same in public fire control.
Since the London fire of 1666 , until the first half of the 19th century, fire extinguishing in London had been undertaken by the fire brigade of the insurance company. In 1831 , the 10 fire brigades of various insurance companies also formed a joint organization.
The British government believes that the official intervention will “suffocate†the free competition of the insurance company's fire brigade, thus delaying the integration of fire services into government functions.
However, with the continuous development of economy and trade, the danger of fire is getting more and more serious. The fire brigade of the insurance company must be overwhelmed and overwhelmed, and can only continue to increase the premium rate to maintain the operation of the fire brigade.
June 22, 1861, Tullie Street (Tooley Street) in central London warehouse fire burned for two weeks burn out, according to the prevailing currency in direct economic losses of up to 200 million pounds, was in 1666 after the worst fire in London, James Bradwood, founder of the London Fire Brigade, was killed in a collapsed building.
The following year after the fire in Toulley Street, the London Insurance Company jointly sent a letter to the Minister of the Interior, stressing that as the city continues to expand, the insurance company’s fire brigade has done its best, but it is clearly unable to continue to assume responsibility for the protection of fire safety in London, and the fire After extinguishing the fire of non-insured property, the team often did not receive any compensation from the parties and could not continue to develop.
The insurance company suggested that the government should be replaced by the fire fighting duty in London.
In 1865, the British Parliament passed the "Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act," decided since January 1, 1866 officially formed in London Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Metropolitan Fire Brigade), which marked the British government will officially determine the fire service for the government's public Responsibilities - London has also become the first urban government to establish a public fire brigade in modern history.
( Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Fire_Brigade#History, the current Fire Director Dany Cotton is the fire chief of the London fire. Her personal resume is available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Dany_Cotton )
Before the end of the 19th century, thanks to the excellent leadership of Sir Sir Eyre Massey Shaw , the London Fire Department entered a period of rapid development, the number of fire stations increased significantly, and communication was established between stations. The telegraph line, the steam fire pump with more than 20 liters per second, is also widely used.
At the time, the London Fire Brigade recruited only retired sailors because they were disciplined and physically strong and hard-working. Firefighters are staying in the fire station. They have long working hours, poor living conditions, low wages, and no pension. Sir Jay is an important figure in London’s social scene. He has close contacts with the royal family and is a personal friend of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII, King of England from 1901 to 1910 ). The Charing Cross Fire Station near Trafalgar Square in central London has always had a suit for the Prince of Wales. Prince of Wales December 7, 1882, London's famed Alhambra Theater fire broke out, Prince of Wales heard the news rushed to the scene, fire fighting process theater wall collapsed, two firefighters who died on the spot, nearby Also dangerous!
At the end of the 19th century, local government reforms laid the foundation of the modern British government system. In England and Wales, two levels of local government frameworks in county (or county-level cities) and urban areas (or rural areas) are generally implemented. In 1889 , the London County Council and the 28 City Councils were established under the London Local Government Act . The London County Council has the power to administer the London Fire Brigade. The dissatisfied Sir resigned in 1891 . In 1904 , the Metropolitan Fire Brigade was renamed the London Fire Brigade . The name is still in use today.
Before the outbreak of World War II, London had 80 fire stations and more than 2,500 firefighters .
20 end of the 1930s, the European continent shrouded in clouds of war. At that time, there were more than 1,600 local fire fighting forces in different parts of the country, but there was still a large gap compared to wartime needs. January 1, 1938, the British government decided to recruit volunteers to form an auxiliary fire brigade (Auxiliary Fire Service), to supplement the lack of professional firefighters, only London planned to recruit 28,000.
To September 1, 1939, there were 89,000 British men and 6,000 women to join the auxiliary fire brigade, the official start of turn Guard - On the same day, the German invasion of Poland, World War II broke out.
As a protectorate of Poland, Britain was forced to declare war on Germany in the event of a severe shortage of preparations. After the first six months of war, basically "Western Front", a turning point occurred in Norway after the Battle of the outbreak, especially after the late June 1940, France surrendered, Britain became the only European country still fighting with Nazi Germany, has become Germany's focus on targets.
From September 7, 1940 Nazi Germany first began air strikes against London, the London Fire Brigade has entered a period of the most arduous.
With many experienced professional firefighters enlisted in the army, assisting firefighters to become an important fire force in London, the city has established more than 300 volunteer fire stations. Due to lack of clothing, many volunteer firefighters can only wear uniforms in the postman.
In order to solve the problem of shortage of transport vehicles, more than 2,000 taxis took the initiative to haul the fire pump. Especially during the "Battle of Britain" in August 1940 to May of the following year, have at least 70 multiple daily urban water supply pipeline was blown off, and the water level by the great tidal Thames, sinister Nazi Luftwaffe special The bombing at the low water level of the Thames River made it harder for fire water supply. Many trucks were temporarily installed with 4 tons of water storage tanks to carry fire water.
Overcoming all kinds of difficulties, the London firefighters have never been seen in the overnight bombings and fire. In 1941 , the British government unified the national professional firefighting force and the auxiliary fire brigade into the National Fire Service and implemented unified command in the wartime.
By the end of the Second World War, firefighters in London had saved a total of about 50,000 fires caused by air raids. 327 people bravely died. Churchill praised the London firefighters as "a great group whose contributions will never be forgotten."
After the end of the Second World War, according to the " Fighting Organization Act of 1947 ," the national fire brigade was disbanded and the fire fighting function was reverted to the counties and municipalities. From 1 April 1948, the London Fire Brigade also returned to the pre-war state. From this year until 1962 , Sir Frederick Delve served as the director of the London Fire Brigade. During this period, he advanced a series of major reforms and completely updated the old fire vehicles during World War II. Firefighters are equipped with positive pressure breathing apparatus to intensify their fire prevention functions and remove street fire alarm boxes with false alarm rates of up to 95% . Instead of centralized fire alarm dispatch systems for 999 fire alarms, the London Fire Brigade is also increasingly involved in the disposal of non-fires. Emergency. Since 1958 , the London Fire Brigade has started to use guide ropes. Once firefighters are trapped in a fire, they can determine the distance from the exit by touching the knot.
In 1965 , according to the new "London Government Act," London's scope expanded from 624 square kilometers when the London County was established in 1889 (that is, the inner city of London) to 1,253 square kilometers including the outer city, an increase of doubling. The newly established Greater London Council replaced the London County Council with 32 municipalities. The Greater London Council and the various committees under it are essentially London's local administrative agencies. The 32 municipal councils provide basic public services in accordance with the division of responsibilities. In the late 1960s, according to the "Redcliff-Mod Report" issued by the Royal Commission, about 60 functions of the British local government were categorized into three categories: protection, convenience, and welfare. Fire protection was an important "protection". The class functions are also increasingly valued. With the integration of some or all fire-fighting forces in 10 counties , such as Middlesex, Essex, and Hertford , London, the London Fire Brigade ranks among the largest fire and rescue agencies in the world. The number of stations reached the highest peak. There are 115 onshore fire stations and 2 water fire stations. Each station is generally equipped with one or two multi-purpose fire engines. It is also from 1965 that the London Fire Brigade established a complete statistical analysis system, which has accumulated a large amount of valuable data.
In 1982, the London fire brigade appeared first female firefighter, throughout the 1980s, the London Fire Brigade total of 60 female firefighters, most of them are working for more than 10 years.
In 1979 , the new right-wing government of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Thatachar took office, came to power. April 1986, in order to implement the "liberal plus a small country" and "Thatcherism", effective control of local government expenditure, the Conservative government forcibly abolished the Greater London Council and the six cities of Liverpool County Council, London It became the capital of the only world there is no mayor and municipal agencies, and this is the 1980s British politics a big laughing stock. After the cancellation of the Greater London Parliament, contrary to Thatcher’s predictions, the municipal organization has changed from simple to complex. The various committees and the Joint Committee have assumed various specific administrative tasks, among them, the “Fire and Civil Defence Committeeâ€. ( Fire and civil defence authorities ) responsible for firefighting affairs.
Due to the lack of professional background and low work efficiency, this newly formed board member has affected the development of the fire brigade in London to some extent. From 1993 to 1999 , London closed three fire stations.
After the Labour government came to power in 1997 , Prime Minister Tony Blair complied with the trend of public opinion and decentralized governance and vigorously promoted decentralization and decentralization. According to the " Greater London Act of 1999 ," after the fierce political struggle,
July 3, 2000 was finally set up a "government Greater London", thus ending the embarrassing history of London 14 years without municipal organization.
The composition of the Greater London government includes the elected mayor, as well as the 25 -member Parliament of London, which covers the entire Greater London area with an area of 1,579 square kilometers.
As the representative of London, the mayor has greater administrative power, has the power to appoint the head of the functional organization, and makes recommendations on the policy orientation and budgetary arrangements for urban development. The policy plan is mainly issued in the name of the Greater London Government. The London Plan will be detailed and reflected. The main function of the London Parliament is to supervise the work of the mayor and review, revise and approve the policies, decisions and annual budgets proposed by the mayor. The major functions of the Greater London Government, including the Communications Commission, the Police and Crime Prevention Office, the Government Property Agency, and the Fire and Emergency Planning Commission, are responsible for implementing the policies established by the Mayor and the Parliament and organizing the services provided by relevant agencies.
London Fire and Emergency Planning Committee (London Fire and Emergency PlanningAuthority) includes 17 members, appointed by the Mayor of London each year, of which eight were nominated by the London Assembly, seven people nominated by the borough, the other two people designated directly by the mayor. The main duties of the committee are to manage the London Fire Brigade, conduct strategic planning and policy measures in the field of fire and emergency rescue, determine the focus of the London Fire Brigade, and supervise the performance of its duties. After the committee voted
The London Safety Plan is issued regularly to determine the development goals for the next three to five years.
The London Fire Brigade, as a statutory agency providing fire fighting and rescue services in the Greater London area, under the leadership of the Fire Commissioner , specifically performs fire fighting and rescue duties.
Based on the above-mentioned government structure and division of responsibilities, London has formed a fire service operation mechanism under the leadership of the mayor and separated from the decision-making and implementation: the fire and emergency planning committee as a decision-making body, has legislative and administrative functions, and its members are elected officials; The fire brigade, as the executing agency, specifically implements the matters identified by the mayor and the fire emergency planning committee, and engages in fire-fighting and rescue work, composed of professional firefighters.
From 2000 to 2008 , Ken Livingstone was elected the first mayor of London.
During his tenure, the London Fire Brigade conducted a major update on old firefighting vehicles and purchased more than 200 Mercedes-Benz Atego chassis multi-purpose fire engines, logistic support fire engines and command vehicles to replace the original models of the Volvo FL6 chassis. .
Each fire station is equipped with one or two multi-functional fire engines, the car is equipped with 9 meters or 13.5 meters pull ladder, carrying 1365 liters of water, on-board pump flow 3910 l / min, although the London Fire Brigade does not undertake emergency medical duties, but all Fire trucks are equipped with defibrillators for on-site first aid.
The London Fire Brigade is also equipped with 16 high-rise platform fire engines with a working height of 32 meters