Learning the Lessons from an

unprecedented threat

How LFB meets the operational

challenges

Deputy Commissioner Steve Apter

Director Safety & Assurance
London Fire Brigade
 Please Consider…..
• Ongoing criminal investigations &
Public Inquiry
• National security issues
• Subject to formal debriefs
• Honest and reflective
• Personal and organisational learning
of 2017
Emergency Services Interoperability
 NILOs
National Inter-Agency Liaison Officers
 The NILO is the
‘Tactical Adviser’
For

• Conventional Terrorism
• CBRN Terrorism
• Firearms Related Incidents
• Public Disorder
• Crisis Management
MARAUDING TERROR ATTACK
 Counter Terrorism– Response Aims

•Rapid armed deployment to eliminate threat

•Rapid response to treat casualties

•Rapid identification of risks & threats

Intensive joint training between

Police, Fire & Ambulance
MCR – Life Saving - Mass Casualty Recovery

Realistic training....real life response

 Joint
Intelligence

Joint Effective Joint

Response Safe Training
Resilient

Joint
Planning
© P. Simpson 2000
When Theory Becomes
Reality
Westminster Bridge
• At 14:47 22nd March 2017, initial calls
were received by LFB to a crash on
Westminster Bridge

• First crews on scene 14:51

“Sir, are you aware of

reports of shots fired in
Palace of
Westminster??”
Initial Response Phase 0-5
min
 INITIAL ATTENDANCE ON SCENE
5minutes
RVP South side RVP North side
 The fire boat was on a routine patrol and had
just just passed under Westminster Bridge.

Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, 29 was rescued from

the river Thames by the LFB Fireboat crew

She suffered severe head trauma. Tragically she passed

away several days later.
NILO briefing Mass Casualty Recovery Team
(MCR) responders
Forward Command Point (FCP)
What was the impact
• 5 killed, 50 Injured
• National Security
• COBRa – political
• My staff – their welfare
• My own personal resilience
• Threat level being considered –
organisational resilience & plans
 London Bridge & Borough Market 3rd
June 2017
• Vehicle used as a weapon
• 3 terrorists – bladed weapons
• Vehicle crashed before reaching main
target area
• Vehicle laden with petrol bombs!
• Fire intended as a weapon but not
deployed!
London Bridge & Borough Market

3 terrorists

Vehicle as a
weapon

Bladed
weapons

Fire as a
weapon!
 multi-agency response
fire officers were in attendance
throughout the incident
working closely with police and
ambulance officers treating
some of the many victims.
London Bridge & Borough Market 3rd June 2017
What was the impact
• 8 killed, 48 Injured
• National Security
• COBRa – political
• Resilience
• Threat level raised to Critical - Impact
Grenfell Tower Major Incident
Wednesday 14 June 2017

An Unprecedented Fire
Description and location
•Grenfell Tower, Lancaster West
Estate, London, W11 1TG
• 24 storey residential building
• Ground floor créche, nursery, youth
club
• 129 one and two bedroom flats
• London Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea
Description and location
•Grenfell Tower, Lancaster West
Estate, London, W11 1TG
• 24 storey residential building
• Ground floor créche, nursery, youth
club
• 129 one and two bedroom flats
• London Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea
Grenfell Tower

• Designed 1967
• Built 1972-74
• 24 storeys
• Brutalist architecture
• Refurbished 2014-16
• 9 further flats added
An unprecedented incident …..
Number of persons rescued
• 65 people rescued
by crews using both
Standard Duration
and Extended
Duration breathing
apparatus
• Extremely difficult
and arduous
conditions
 Resources used
• >250 firefighters and officers during response phase
• During whole phase, estimate over 4000 staff involved
• 40 pumping appliances
• 7 Command Units
• 14 Fire Rescue Units
• 4 Aerials
• 3 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) modules
• 50 specialist USAR firefighters and specially trained search
dogs
Other agencies in attendance
• Metropolitan Police Service
• London Ambulance Service inc HART
• Local Authority (Dangerous Structure
Engineer and LALO)
• Network Rail (Rail Incident Officer)
• National Police Air Service
• Salvation Army
• Utility Companies - gas and electric
Duration of incident
• Stop message was sent on
27 June 2017 at 1345
hours
• 13 days, 12 hours and 51
minutes after the initial call
• LFB Fire Investigation team
members were still on
scene in January 2018
assisting MPS investigation
Key Inquiries

• Largest ever Criminal

Investigation by Met Police
• Public Inquiry
• LFB’s Internal Inquiry (lessons
learned)
Key Activities
• Fire Investigation and cause of rapid fire spread
• Robust data capture and information
management
• Evidence Disclosure
• Data protection and Protective Marking
• Production of ‘Time-line’ covering the
operational response phase
• Witness Statements
What was the impact
• 71 killed, many injured,
• Unprecedented – Literally
• COBRa – Political
• Legislative - Inquiry
• Resilience – personal,
organisational, national,
community
 Responder
safety
Keeping people
Resilience
informed

Life
Situational
awareness

Information
Hazards
gathering

Scene
Business assessment
Continuity
 Any questions?
steve.apter@london-fire.gov.uk