A brand new prime-time documentary series starts tonight on ITV, showcasing the huge variety of challenges the capital’s firefighters face every day.
The three part series - Inside London Fire Brigade - will air on Thursday at 9pm. Featuring exclusive ‘on-scene’ footage it follows our crews as they respond to a staggering range of incidents over the last year
The programme will show the public what it means to be a modern day firefighter, giving viewers an insight into station life and the unique range of skills and specialisms our firefighters need to keep London safe every day of the year. Viewers will get the opportunity to see an incident unfold from the first call into Control to the outcome of a fire investigation. It will also showcase our crews carrying out vital fire prevention work.
The film crew attached themselves to three stations, Lambeth, Brixton and Battersea, but also turned up to other incidents as they happened. They managed to film a diverse mix of fire and rescue ‘jobs’ including the Croydon tram crash, an explosion at a block of flats in East London, a blaze which destroyed a garden centre near Heathrow, a flood in Stoke Newington and a basement office fire in Borough, as well as road traffic collisions.
The first episode has been specially re-edited to include interviews with a very limited number of staff who attended the Grenfell Tower fire – some of who were also part of the original documentary. These interviews took place with the advice and agreement of our legal department and the Metropolitan Police.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said:
“While we have been serving the capital for over 150 years, your average Londoner doesn’t have a clue about the breadth of experience, skills and talent that we have at the Brigade. This documentary is an opportunity to show case just some of this.
“It covers everything from urban search and rescue crews, road traffic accidents, flooding, house fires and our community prevention work.
It also features the dangers we face and the desperation we feel when we can’t save everyone. When the Grenfell tragedy happened, filming had already stopped but it would have been wrong to leave it out of this programme. I saw first hand that night the incredible acts of bravery from our firefighters including many who are here to night. However, due to the ongoing police investigation, we have been unable to say too much about what really happened. This documentary gave us a very first opportunity to pay tribute to the bravery of crews responding throughout the whole period and to begin to show all those affected how hard everyone worked and did everything we could.
“The Grenfell fire interviews makes difficult watching but it’s a story that it’s important to tell.
“I know the level of work we have completed with Mentorn Media and am really looking forward to ITV sharing our story, and giving the public that desperately needed insight into all the our professional service does every single day and night.”
This Thursday’s show also follows Battersea Crew Manager Edric Kennedy-Macfoy as he responds to the Croydon tram crash where seven passengers sadly lost their lives. It will show the affect the incident had on the rescuers and how they deal with the trauma.
In Lambeth, Tami Macleod-Carey is one of over 300 female firefighters in the Brigade. The mum of one, juggles the demands of the job with looking after her four-year-old son. She is called to an incident on Westminster Bridge when a coach bursts into flames.
After years of decreasing incidents on fireworks night due to the Brigade’s successful fire safety campaigns, the first episode shows a dramatic evening for crews as they face one of the busiest bonfire nights in years including a huge basement blaze in a block of flats.