LFB demonstrates terror response after arson attacks
BBCThe London Fire Brigade (LFB) has demonstrated how it would respond to a marauding terrorist attack, months after four Jewish community ambulances were set alight in Golders Green.
Members of the London Assembly Fire Committee visited Finchley Fire Station for an update on the emergency response, and to see how crews would deal with a similar incident.
Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust, which advises on security across the Jewish community, said: "Unfortunately the way things are we have to prepare for the possibility of future attacks."
LFB borough commander Rob Davis described the capital as "a forever changing environment", which faced "new methods of attacks".
He said the training meant firefighters could enter potential incidents "knowing from start to finish what the protocols and steps look like", as well as ensuring firefighter safety and focusing on the recovery of injured personals.
During the visit, members were shown the LFB's marauding terrorist attack response capability, which was introduced following the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.
The demonstration showed how firefighters would respond to a potential attack, as well as measures that could be put in place at Jewish community buildings to help them prepare.
The arson attack on 23 March caused around £1m of damage and destroyed four ambulances operated by the Jewish charity Hatzola.
The incident came during a further wave of antisemitic attacks in the area, prompting a major counter-terrorism investigation which led to dozens of arrests and increased security across north-west London.
Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi,18, and Saif Ali, 18, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to a charge of destroying or damaging property while being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
Prosecutors said they believed the incident was a targeted attack against the Jewish community.
The four will be sentenced following the outcome of the trial of a fifth man, Subhan Ahmed, who has denied assisting an offender.
Rich said there had been a "long-standing pattern of terrorism and hate crime targeting the Jewish community since the October 7 attack".
He said the number of requests for security had increased "astronomically" and was "roughly double" what it was before then.
"When attacks happen we need to make sure the response is as quick and as good and as effective as it can be."
Rich praised the LFB for its response during the arson attacks, as well as its engagement with the community and supporting organisations, which he said was "really helpful at a time when the community felt very vulnerable".
"That's why the kind of support from agencies from like the fire brigade and the police is really important to give that reassurance," he said.
Yanky David, a responder for Hatzola NW London, said: "It's a really frightening thing for ambulances to be attacked because ambulances are there to save lives.
"It could have potentially been catastrophic results for the residents."
Following the LFB's demonstration and update, he said it was reassuring to see emergency services ensuring they were prepared.
He praised the support provided by the LFB on the day, "fearless as they are", and said the London Ambulance Service delivered three ambulances the following day for Hatzola to use while its vehicles were replaced.
"It allows us to carry our work and carry on life as a community but it's definitely there in the back of our minds every day."
He added he was pleased to see "bobbies back on the beat" with increased patrols following the attacks.
But he said that the arson attacks still linger on in people's minds.
"I think people still walk past the site every day and they look at it and they feel pain, but we have to carry on," David said.
Hina Bokhary, deputy chair of the London Assembly Fire Committee, was also at the demonstration.
She told BBC News: "We are living in difficult times where London is seeing incidents of hate crime going up with Muslim community groups, antisemitism and Islamophobia, and also Sikh communities are feeling the impact of the way divisiveness is within our politics and within London itself."
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