London Fire Brigade News

The London Fire Brigade has added a pair of new fireboats on the Thames as part of a £40 million investment made by City Hall to expand the Brigade’s fleet of equipment and vehicles.The new 16.2-meter-long boats, Tanner and Errington, are named after Auxiliary Fireman Harry Errington and Auxiliary Firewoman Gillian Tanner, who in the Second World War were both awarded medals for bravery. The call signs for the boats are H23A and H23B, a reference to Adam Mere and Billy Faust, two London firefighters who died fighting a fire in 2004.Built by Holyhead Marine…

The vessel caught fire while in sea-borne mode, and the 30 passengers and crew evacuated  into waist deep water between Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Soon afterwards, three commercial RHIBs nearby attended and recovered people from the water and landed them at a nearby pontoon. London Fire Brigade’s boat was also on scene and the fire was extinguished. Tower and Chiswick RNLI lifeboats and the Police helicopter searched the water to ensure nobody was unaccounted for in the water.