FIRE

999

In 1935 there was a fire at 27 Wimpole Street. Frank Cocker raised the alarm. Norman McDonald, a physician, tried to inform the authorities. He did so by ringing 0 on his telephone to contact the operator. He received no reply. Mr Cocker managed to summon the fire brigade by means of a public telephone that stood at the southern end of the street. By the time the fire was extinguished the five people who had been sleeping in No. 27 were dead. Dr McDonald was outraged that that the operator had not responded by his call. He initiated a public debate about how the emergency services could be contacted by writing a letter to the editor of The Times newspaper. As a result, the 999 number for contacting the emergency services was introduced. This utilised the technology of the new automated telephone exchanges. As these were opened up across Britain so the number's use spread.

Location: 27 Wimpole Street, W1G 8GN (purple, brown)

58 Wimpole Street, W1G 8YR. Dr McDonald's office. (purple, yellow)

The London Fire Brigade

In 1833 a number of insurance company fire brigades were merged to create the London Fire Engine Establishment. James Braidwood was appointed as the force's superintendent. However, its shortcomings were exposed first by the Palace of Westminster fire in 1834 and subsequently by the Tooley Street fire in 1861 in which Braidwood died.

A government investigation led to the establishment in 1865 of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, which was placed under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works. In 1889 the London County Council inherited the Board's supervision of the Brigade. In 1904 the Metropolitan Fire Brigade was renamed the London Fire Brigade.

In 1965 a new London Fire Brigade was created.

Location: 169 Union Street, SE1 0LL¹

Website: www.london-fire.gov.uk

¹. In taxi slang Union Street is known as Flat Iron Square .

The Second World War

In 1941 a National Fire Service was created. The Greater London's fire brigades were run as a single regional force. In 1948 control of the London Fire Brigade was returned to the London County Council.

The London Salvage Corps

The London Salvage Corps was a private fire service that was financially underwritten by insurance companies.

In 1934 Captain Brymore Miles was convicted of taking payment from a group of arsonists in order not to attribute a number of fires to them. He was jailed for four years.

The Corps was wound up in 1982.

The Pantechnicon

The Pantechnicon (1830) was a supposedly fireproof complex of stables, warehouses, and wine vaults.¹ In 1874 it burned down. Included in the conflagration was part of the Wallace Collection, which was then being stored in the facility.

Location: 19 Motcomb Street, SW1X 8LB (red, brown)

See Also: EXHIBITING GALLERIES The Saatchi Gallery; MUSEUMS The Wallace Collection

¹. As a legacy, the word pantechnicon has come to mean a large furniture removal van . (The Greek word for a removal van is metaphor .)

David Backhouse 2024