Westfield Stratford City set to open fire safety information hub for shoppers

The joint venture involving Westfield and Newham Council is due to be launched on Friday 23 September. The unit itself will be open for a period of one month and effectively act as a drop-in centre for visitors to learn more about fire safety as well as gather key information from representatives of Newham Council, the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Ambulance Service.

Chris Kendall, station commander at Stratford Fire Station, has worked closely with partner organisations to bring the innovative concept together. He said: “We very rarely have the opportunity to do something like this and are extremely grateful to Westfield Stratford City for donating the space to us. The Shopping Centre welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each week, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us and our partners to speak to members of the community with whom we may not otherwise come into contact.”

Kendall added: “We really want our communities to see the face of the London Fire Brigade. It’s great that shoppers can walk in and have a chat with firefighters and learn about what it is we do. We will also give them advice on how to improve fire safety in their home and when at work.”

In conclusion, Kendall noted: “Newham is one of the most diverse London Boroughs. Working together with our communities, we are aiming to increase awareness of fire safety and, ultimately, reduce the number of fires that occur. We’re also supporting our partners to help residents with any other issues or concerns they may presently have.”

Booking a fire safety visit

Throughout the month that the Newham Safety Centre is open, visitors will be able to find out more about recruitment, sign up to book a Home Fire Safety Visit and/or complete the online Home Fire Safety Checker tool.

In addition, they can meet the constituent members of some other teams from within the Brigade, including the education team, the drone team, the fire cadets and the fire investigation dog handlers. Other services on offer at set times are going to include the community resuscitation trainers from LAS who will show members of the public how to perform CPR and deploy a defibrillator when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

Everyone who’s trained will have the opportunity to be signed up as a ‘London Lifesaver’ and be confident that they can save someone who’s in cardiac arrest. The London Fire Brigade’s hazardous area response team and public education team members will also be available to offer safety advice.

Newham Borough commander Richard Arnold observed: “The work that all of those partners involved have done to bring this opportunity together has been fantastic. As the Borough commander, I’m very proud of our commitment to work with key partners in keeping the community and visitors of Newham safe. We’re really looking forward to welcoming visitors to the unit.”

Westfield Stratford City’s general manager Alyson Hodkinson concluded: “We have a very strong relationship with the London Fire Brigade and work closely together throughout the year. I’m really proud of the teams coming together to launch the pop-up Newham Safety Centre for our customers. Not only will it be educational and informative, but members of the public will also have the chance to meet the dedicated team members behind what is one of our most important public services.”