Jewish community outreach helped response to arson attacks, London Fire Brigade commander says

He added that the response from the Jewish community has been “phenomenal”, continuing: “We’re very grateful for that, they've been very generous, and the gratitude we’ve been given is absolutely exceptional. It’s been very refreshing.”

Rob Davis, borough commander for Barnet, speaks to media and guests ahead of the terror attack response demonstration (photo: Ben Conway)[Missing Credit]

The high-profile arson attacks on the Jewish community (and beyond) include the initial Hatzola ambulance attack, an attempted firebombing at Finchley Reform Synagogue, and further incidences of arson at the former Jewish Futures headquarters, Kenton United Synagogue, the offices of TV network Iran International, and the Iranian memorial wall in Golders Green.

Davis said that the Hatzola attack was prevented from being more damaging by a “significant multidisciplinary response” from LFB.

“It was the quick, immediate, aggressive firefighting tactics deployed by the crews there which kept that incident to the scale that it was,” he said. “If they weren’t as aggressive and as well-trained, we could have been looking at a more significant incident, which could have involved the [neighbouring] synagogue and potentially the block of flats too.”

In addition to LFB’s positive outreach, their community engagement team provides a visible on-scene presence “to support people with whatever it is that they need in that moment”, said Ruth Walshe, LFB’s senior community engagement officer.

Established in 2020, having learnt from shortcomings in the response to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the eight-person team works around the clock to be on call for any emergencies.

“We are kind of the face of LFB,” Walshe said. “We’re there to communicate. Often, the biggest thing that people need at an incident is just information. They’re just terrified, it’s a traumatic event, and they just want to know what is happening, answers to their questions.

“When can they get back in their flat, or if they can't get back in their flat, what is going to happen? They just want information and having us there means that we’re able to constantly provide that.”

Staff at Finchley Fire Station setting up for the terror attack response demonstration (photo: Ben Conway)[Missing Credit]

Aside from emergencies, Walshe explained that a lot of the team’s work involves deepening their understanding of local communities and how they practise their faith. That includes being aware of any risks that festivals or celebrations might bring – “whether it’s that people burn candles on this holiday, or people use fireworks for this holiday, or people cook a lot on this holiday”, they said.

“Emergency services relied [in the past] on people coming to them. We need to go to where people are. Where are people gathering? Where are people listening to advice? What is the local newspaper? What is the local news service that people will listen to? Because they're not going to be following LFB on Instagram, maybe, but they might be following the Jewish Chronicle”.

At the event, firefighters provided a live seven-minute enactment of a hypothetical response to a terror situation, in which a car drove into a shopping centre with an unknown number of casualties on the scene.

They performed ten-second triages of casualties before taking them away from the scene in order of urgency for further assessment and treatment.

Zack Polanski was in attendance in his capacity as part of the Fire Committee of the London Assembly, a role he assumed prior to becoming Green Party leader.

He asked Dave Rich, head of policy at CST, whether the organisation is “receiving the support [that] you think is necessary”.

Rich said that it “helped that we knew each other before the first arson attack [upon the Hatzola ambulances]”, which allowed for the “immediate liaison, sharing of information, and joint investigations”.

“It really is a very positive story,” continued Rich, adding: “I think what we would want going forward is more joint training in terms of scenarios”, which would also involve Shomrim and Hatzola as well as CST and LFB.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski listening to CST's head of policy Dave Rich (photo: Ben Conway)[Missing Credit]

Alongside Polanski was fellow committee representative Hina Bokhari, a member of the Liberal Democrats. She welcomed the LFB’s initial steps to engage with local communities, while emphasising that their initiative should continue.

“Let’s make sure this isn’t a one-off,” she said. “One of the things that I'll be questioning at the next committee meeting is how we continue the good work. Is there going to be funding? […] How are you going to make sure that there's a real understanding of antisemitism? […] And how are you going to embed that into the training going forward?”

Representatives from Hatzola were also present at the event; Yanky David, a responder for the organisation, commended their “fantastic relationship” with LFB when questioned by Polanski.

This month, Jews will observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which usually see the highest synagogue attendances of the year, so LFB will be on special alert.

“You’ll think it’s business as usual for us driving around,” Davis said. “But we’ll be prepared in terms of our training – and the key thing to the whole preparation is knowing what the festival is. Times, dates, how long it lasts for, what it involves. The training that we undergo makes us prepared, one hundred per cent, for anything.”