Change language
Actions
Displays
Remove from selection
Add to selection
Abstract

Firefighters were hampered in their attempts to save a top doctor who died in a flat blaze by the closure of a nearby fire station, a union chief has claimed.

Six engines and 35 firefighters battled the fire at Claire Sheppey’s home in Crowland Terrace, Canonbury, in the early hours of Wednesday but the 47-year-old anaesthetist died later in hospital. Paramedics had tried to revive Dr Sheppey in the street after she was pulled from her second-floor flat.

The first engine arrived within London Fire Brigade’s target response time but the second took eight minutes and 54 seconds to get there – missing the target by almost a minute.

Crowland Terrace is between Islington fire station, in Upper Street, and the former Kingsland Road station, one of 10 bases across ­London closed by Mayor Boris Johnson in ­January 2014.

Paul Embery, regional secretary for the Fire Brigades Union, told the Tribune: “The appliance from Kingsland would have been there at the same time as the first if the station were open, and that is worrying.

“Obviously, we need an inquest to establish the full facts but as a general rule the longer it takes for an engine to arrive the less the chance of survival. So we can’t rule out the possibility that she would have been saved.”

Mr Embery added: “The targets are there for a reason. You have to have both appliances there as soon as possible for back-up.”

He added that it was part of a “disturbing” trend of the brigade missing its own targets during fatal blazes.

The first and second fire crews were both nearly three minutes late to a fire in Barnsbury last month in which 86-year-old Raymond Lister died.

Islington is now left with just two fire engines after Mr Johnson approved plans to axe one from Holloway – one of 13 across London – to meet a £11.5m budget cut.

The Tribune’s sister paper, the Camden New Journal, has highlighted how fire cuts are affecting attendance times with its Thin Red Line campaign. Questions are still being asked whether neighbouring borough Camden has adequate cover to deal with multiple incidents.

Janet Collins, who lives in nearby Northchurch Road and was the first to raise the alarm just after 1am on Wednesday, criticised Mr Johnson’s cuts.

She said: “How can Boris close fire stations? Is he a firefighter? No, he lives in his million-pound mansion. It’s draconian.

“The firefighters go in there and risk their lives. If it wasn’t for them she [Dr Sheppey] wouldn’t have got out at all. They are cutting the wrong services.”

Stefanie Farrell was wakened by the smoke. “The flat was engulfed,” she said. “It was like something out of a movie. The windows popped and the flames were coming through the roof.”

The brigade was called at 1.36am and the fire was under control just after 4.30am. The cause is still under investigation.

Yesterday (Thursday) colleagues at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel said they were “devastated” by the death and paid tribute to an “amazing woman and doctor” who treated victims of the 7/7 bombings.

Dr Jane McNeill, clinical director for perioperative medicine and consultant anaesthetist at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “Dr Claire Sheppey was a very valued colleague and important part of our department with a joie de vivre that will be so missed.

“She loved her job and was dedicated to providing the best anaesthetic service she could for the children of east London and beyond.

“On her last on-call on Monday she dealt with some extremely unwell children calmly and expertly. Her passion for her job had not diminished since she was appointed.

“Personally, I will miss a great colleague, but also a dear friend, who enriched the lives of so many around her with her tales of her travels across the world and a passion for life in general.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Every fire death is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with this woman’s friends and family but it would be totally inappropriate to speculate on the cause of death ahead of any inquest.

“We have a standard to arrive on average to all incidents across London in six and eight minutes, which we achieve London-wide. In addition, we plan emergency cover on a London-wide basis so if fire engines are unavailable, for whatever reason, whether it is because they are already attending another incident, crews are training or because of staff availability, we still have enough resources in place across the capital to deal with whatever we are called to.”