London Fire Brigade (LFB) provides fire and rescue services across the whole of the Greater London area, serving the capital’s 8.2 million residents as well as those who work in and visit the city.

LFB was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act of 1865. It is the second largest fire service in the UK and the fifth largest in the world. LFB’s vision is to be a world-class fire and rescue service for London, Londoners and visitors. Dany Cotton, QFSM is the current Commissioner. She was awarded the Queen’s fire service Medal in 2004.

LFB celebrated 150 years of service on 1st January 2016. The LFB marked such an auspicious occasion with a year of celebrations and fire safety events, with the aim of looking at their history and educating the public on the importance of fire safety information. Through inspirational fundraising drives, the LFB raised and generously donated £4731 to Restore Research towards ongoing cutting-edge burn and scar research. Restore will use this to advance the quality of burn care in both academic and clinical arenas, by increasing understanding of how the body reacts to a burn and why subsequent scarring takes place.

LFB attended 404,008 calls from January 2013 – December 2016. The fire statistics of England April 2014 – March 2015, reported 496,014 incidents, 31% fires, 44% false alarms, and 25% special services. In the same time period, LFD attended approximately 20% of these. In England, 263 fire-related fatalities were reported which are noted to be at an all-time low. Non-fatal casualties of 7,569, where 43% required hospital treatment and 34% required first aid. Overall, 28,310 accidental dwelling fires were reported with the majority of fire incidents occurring in the month of July and the least in January. Importantly, a significant change has been witnessed in smoke alarm ownership from 8% in 1988 to 92% in 2014/15.

We at Restore are grateful for such a substantial donation and continue to follow the relentless work carried out by LFB.

To find out more visit, www.london-fire.gov.uk or on Twitter @LondonFire

By Dr Hardaman Baryan, Restore Student Fellow