London Fire Brigade added 3 new photos.
20 hrs · 
Many people dismiss the claim that fires can be caused by the sun’s rays refracting off mirrors as just another urban myth, but a fire on Merrow Street in Southwark on Bank Holiday Monday proved the sceptics wrong. Fire investigators found a scorched make up mirror in the debris and believe the mirror refracted the sun’s rays onto the bedroom curtains and started a fire. Luckily, nobody was asleep in bed or injured in the blaze.
The fire destroyed the bedroom and led fire investigator Charlie Pugsley to warn: "These sort of fires are not as rare as you would think. I’ve seen everything from mirrors, Nutella jars to sparkly door knobs and crystal balls starting fires. Mirrors should be kept out of direct sunlight, particularly in the early morning and late evening when the sun is low and more likely to shine through your windows.”
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  • Lawrence Kreger
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  • Henry John Douglas Mirrors do not refract...they reflect. For refraction, the light has to pass through the object. Thus a fire caused by refraction woud start behind the object, whereas reflection would cause a fire somewhere in front of the object. Also, the main culpr...See More
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  • Rob Jamieson I am a firefighter in Ohio, USA and have been to two incidents caused by mirrors reflecting light. One was a bathroom beauty mirror that reflected light on to a calendar on the wall and ignited it, the other was another beauy mirror in a bedroom that ...See More
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London Fire Brigade added 2 new photos.
May 8 at 1:24pm · 
Earlier we observed two minutes silence across the Brigade to mark VE Day.
Firefighters that had finished putting out a fire at a restaurant on Wardour Street in Soho also observed the silence and at HQ we were joined by staff from London Ambulance
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London Fire Brigade added 3 new photos.
May 8 at 8:49am · 
Today is the 70th anniversary of VE Day. At 3pm we’ll join those around the country in remembering all of the lives lost during the war. A three day weekend of events is planned across the country to commemorate the moment Winston Churchill declared the end of the war in Europe.
On Sunday, some of our firefighters will be taking part in a parade of current service personnel and veterans in central London, where they will be assisting members of the Royal British Legion.
Learn more about our role during the Second World War herehttp://www.london-fire.gov.uk/fire-brigade-during-the-secon…
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London Fire Brigade added 3 new photos.
May 7 at 11:46am · 
Nine of our oldest fire stations are currently being rebuilt so they are better equipped to house modern firefighting equipment. Part of the redesign includes a community room that can be booked out for local events and activities.
Today as Britain heads to the polls the community room at the new West Norwood fire station is being used as an election polling station. The fire station is operating as normal, but as far as we know this is the first time a London fire station has been used for this purpose.
For more information on our station rebuilding programme visithttp://www.london-fire.gov.uk/PFIProject.asp
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London Fire Brigade added 4 new photos.
May 6 at 12:09pm · 
Over the last few days in Nepal the International Search and Rescue team (ISAR) have been playing a key role in the continued relief effort.
The team’s duties have included evacuating a four year old girl with a serious leg injury to a field hospital for on going treatment and treating a young boy’s broken arm using a plastic bottle as a splint.
The crew has also been involved in the removal of a brick built column which was overhanging a teaching hospital and put in place te...
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London Fire Brigade added 2 new photos.
May 4 at 5:03am · 
Chips for dinner? A flat fire in Enfield this week brought home the dangers of leaving chip pans unattended. We get called to around one fire a day caused by chip pans and deep fat fryers and last year 80 people were injured as a result, more than half seriously. Share our tips with your family and friends to avoid a cooking disaster like this one: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/LatestIncidentsContainer_2704…
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London Fire Brigade added 4 new photos.
May 3 at 9:13am · Edited · 
Bromley red watch recently set out to ‘Row the Thames’ on six rowing machines at the Intu shopping centre in Bromley to raise money for The Neuroblastoma Children’s Cancer Alliance UK. Thanks to plenty of volunteers including firefighters from Biggin Hill, Forest Hill, Sidcup and Clapham who came along to lend a hand they exceeded the original 215 mile target with time to spare and went on to complete a total of 300 miles, raising £3,000 on the day. The row was in honour of two-year-old Ruby Young who is battling this rare form of childhood cancer. To learn more about Ruby’s story visit: https://www.justgiving.com/rubyyoungjourney/
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London Fire Brigade added 5 new photos.
May 2 at 5:02am · 
A reception was held at Westminster Boating Base on Thursday afternoon to welcome the Massey Shaw, the Brigade’s first fireboat back to her permanent London home in West India Docks.
The tenacious fireboat may be 80 years old this year but she’s still capable of pumping 3,000 gallons of water per minute – the equivalent of four fire engines. The fireboat was taken out of service in 1971 and her recent restoration has been largely funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with support from sponsors and enthusiasts. Read about how the boat helped fight fires in the blitz:
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/fire-brigade-during-the-secon…
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London Fire Brigade added 3 new photos.
May 1 at 6:35am · Edited · 
Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the Nepal earthquake. Search and recovery efforts are continuing and five of our specially trained firefighters flew out earlier this week as part of the International Search and Rescue team (ISAR) to assist in the operation. These shots from the scene give some idea of what crews and the local population are up against. You can read more here: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/…/LatestNewsReleases_27041540…
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