London's Burning

[Steve]

I have no idea what is or has happened this year in London.... I guess two 10pf's on 2nd Janaury set us up for where we were going. Outside of the headline jobs, it has been crazy, I've gone from being quiet busy with a couple of jobs per month two having two per week in the last month.

I have been on duty all over the weekend on overtime as a FSO and was at Camden on Friday night. Yesterday from around 5pm I attended two 10pf's one in Bethnal Green in a block of flats, home for an hour then another 10pf in a Warehouse in Edmonton until 3am this morning. I have been paged for a couple of 4pf's as FS Officer today but as most FSO's are tied up didn't attend. As an ILO we've been keeping a weather eye on a protest in Stratford in East London that, as predicited, as soon as the sun went down turned into a civil disturbance. I've been running the Forward Mobilising at Plaistow Fire Stn since around 10pm where we had 4 pumps on scene dealing with numerous car and rubbish fires and we had 6 pumps, a CU an ALP and 2 FRU's at the FMP to deal with any escalation.

This was alongside an 8pf in a block of flats in Camden (not the blocks that have been in the News) and as midnight ticked over another 8pf 1x ALP in a terrace of shops in Tooting. Just a mile or so down the road from there an illegal rave in Clapham that has spilled over into more disorder around  Clapham & Brixton where we now have another  restricted zone in force. This exhausted all on duty Senior Officers and the recall ILO's who were called back to duty at 10pm.

My third night out of bed, I'm on my chinstrap... and from 08:00 my own two 24's start. Has London and its population gone mad or are we having 'one of our spells' as we do from time to time but on steriods? And its only June still. All of the Watches are picking up this work calls are double their usual rate with seemingly loads of rubbish and car fires which had become quite rare over the past decade.

Are we alone or is everyone getting it at the moment?

[LiamG]

I blame Finchley's new recruit. I gave him the "don't go chasing it, it will all come in it's own time and there will be times where you've seemingly not gone out the doors for ages"... he then proceeded to have 3 seperate wears at jobs in his first tour, the golders green 15 pf, initial wearer at a 6pf (and pretty much put it out) and a house job on our ground. Add to that as you say the likes of Grentfell and he's had a very hectic introduction to the LFB.

[Cashybai]

I'm with you Steve. We were saying just that at the Camden 8 last night, it feels almost like back in the nineties in terms of shouts. Our days this tour were absolutely manic, I've four small code 1's to enter for second day alone, runs out to alongside the old Westminster fire station, with Dowgate onto Southwarks old ground, over to the smell of burning on the back of the Bethnal Green Job and back via Islington and Clerkenwell's old ground....I dunno about how busy the TL's are, it felt like the old days when we were running the Maggy 'U' out of Belsize all over North London on the front of our ladder on Saturday...

[Mitch]

This time last year my out in the sticks RDS station were on the dizzy heights of 35 calls (which resulted in our busiest year) and now we sit on mid 70's. So not just London. This includes a number of 15 pump calls and one 22 pump prison fire on the station ground. 

[Dot]

2 hours ago, Cashybai said:

I'm with you Steve. We were saying just that at the Camden 8 last night, it feels almost like back in the nineties in terms of shouts. Our days this tour were absolutely manic, I've four small code 1's to enter for second day alone, runs out to alongside the old Westminster fire station, with Dowgate onto Southwarks old ground, over to the smell of burning on the back of the Bethnal Green Job and back via Islington and Clerkenwell's old ground....I dunno about how busy the TL's are, it felt like the old days when we were running the Maggy 'U' out of Belsize all over North London on the front of our ladder on Saturday...

Theirs was an 'E' mate.... the cheap rubbish one!! 

I must say aside from the obvious one a fortnight back I'm really liking this busy spell, and not getting anything done on days because of it. I'm just waiting for my SM to ask why I haven't done something target related... 

 

[Steve]

Don't worry about that, he's been flat out this weekend and we had him up the front in the disorder last night. Targets are out of the window.

[Dot]

 

[Tom]

Must be because I'm off at the moment Guv, it'll quiet down soon as I'm back!

[Matt]

And they say fires don't happen...

It's been quite busy up and down the country this weekend by the looks of bits I have seen.  I know Suffolk had a busy spell on Saturday and then Cambridge did on Sunday, various jobs on going at the same time so pumps all over the place.

[Aspire]

6 hours ago, Dot said:

 I'm just waiting for my SM to ask why I haven't done something target related... 

 

Tell me about it, luckily my boss started this topic ?

[JonFromTheLFB]

I'm printing it out and framing it as we speak! 

[Dot]

I'm gonna print & fold it up and carry it on me at all times.... ?

[Steve]

5 hours ago, Aspire said:

Tell me about it, luckily my boss started this topic ?

 

5 hours ago, JonFromTheLFB said:

I'm printing it out and framing it as we speak! 

You would both have got an email from me anyway.... you have your work cut out for the rest of this week.

[Cashybai]

@Carl can we get a Hackney section on the forum please?

[JonFromTheLFB]

11 hours ago, Steve said:

You would've both have got an email from me anyway.... you have your work cut out for the rest of this week.

Oh bugger. 

[Bubbles]

3 hours ago, Cashybai said:

@Carl can we get a Hackney section on the forum please?

Although I know longer live in Hackney or London I still like hearing whats been going on in the borough... so yes Carl can we have a hackney section???   

[Dyson]

Yes we are busy too. last shift was the 1st night in ages we didn't go out in the wee hours...shift before all night 4pf, shift before all night 2 3pf back to back etc.....loads of fires, as well as the standard RTC and other rescue workload.

Its busy, and i love it  

[JonFromTheLFB]

On 26/06/2017 at 22:57, Steve said:

You would both have got an email from me anyway.... you have your work cut out for the rest of this week.

For those wondering... He wasn't lying!!! 

[BurtMacklin]

Smoke alarm-ageddon in my borough 

[Steve]

Thankfully my post seems to have brought some peace and quiet, but still a sprinkling of 4's and 6's this week as well as untold inspections and HFSV's fo rthe crews and meeting after meeting for the Officers.

[Cashybai]

Kyboshed the purple patch Steve....

[Steve]

I need a rest, one reason or another I've worked every weekend since my last duty weekend, I need some down time as its back on Tuesday for my next run into a duty weekend

[Ian]

It didn't last too long!

 

[Cashybai]

[Firestorm]

Even we had fires last tour! Neil and Steve know where I am, when we to have fires, things are changing!

I still want to move though.