London’s only river fire station is back open

The capital’s only river fire station is back up and running after the London Fire Brigade (LFB) completed a programme of maintenance.

Last week, firefighters returned to the historic Lambeth River Fire Station at Albert Embankment on the Thames after six months of refurbishments. 

While the station was under repair, Lambeth River Fire Station’s crews and fire boats were stationed at HMS President, the Royal Navy’s permanent base on the River Thames.

Lieutenant Commander L J Broster, of the Royal Navy, said: “HMS President has been very pleased to host our colleagues from LFB since February. 

“The brigade’s nine-month stay has flown by and been of mutual benefit to both the Royal Navy Reserve and LFB. As the LFB moves back to Lambeth River Station, all our staff at HMS President wish them a fond farewell.”

Fire boats have been used in London since the 1700s and a river station has been positioned at Lambeth since 1936. 

Lambeth River Fire Station’s firefighters use two fire boats to respond to incidents from the river, bridges and the shore. 

Working closely with the RNLI, Met police, HMS Coastguard and Port of London Authority, the LFB’s boat crews attend more than 170 incidents a year – more than three a week on average.

Alongside general improvements, painting and decorating, the station’s hull has been fully refurbished, extending the life of the station by around 25 years. 

The station now has two fire boats worth a total of £3.2million. ‘Tanner’ and ‘Errington’ are twice as fast as the previous vessels and can reach speeds of forty knots. 

As well as hoses that allow crews to fight fires from the river, the boats are fitted with a hydraulic crane for conducting rescues from the water and a high-definition thermal imaging camera.

Pictured top: Firefighters on board their new fire boat at Lambeth River Fire Station, Albert Embankment (Picture: LFB)