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Firefighters patrol borough on bikes

 
Along with London firefighters, we are stepping up the effort to tackle fire risks and make the borough safer this summer.

Firefighters will be cycling round until September covering open land and parkland to identify potential arson sites. They will also look for fire risks in other areas, such as:

  • abandoned vehicles
  • unsecured empty properties
  • overgrown hedges
  • abandoned cylinders
  • areas with evidence of deliberate fire-setting.
They will report potential risks to the Council and these will be removed, advise will also be given to property owners.

Pilot project 

The drive is all part of a pilot project run by the Fire Brigade’s Community Safety Cycle Team, in partnership with the Council. The scheme was run in Hounslow, West London last year and saw a 40 per cent reduction in deliberate fires. It has now been expanded to 11 more boroughs over the summer months.

Two officers will patrol Greenwich along with neighbouring Bexley and Lewisham under the South East London scheme.

The officers, who have received training from the Metropolitan Police,will be riding specially marked Fire and Rescue mountain bikes.

Getting involved with the community

The brigade’s cycle project coordinator Jim Smith, who is based at East Greenwich Fire station, said:

"The scheme means firefighters can be out on bikes looking for things that could catch fire or be targeted for arson. It means the brigade is being a little more proactive presenting potential problems to the Council before they become an issue.

"It also means firefighters can be out engaging with the public and speaking about all sorts of issues so they can be more involved with the community. If all goes well each borough could get its own dedicated cycle team."

30 June 2008

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