London Fire Brigade remembers Lambeth blaze 100 years on
A memorial event was held by the London Fire Brigade on the 30th January in order to mark the 100-year anniversary of their largest peacetime loss of life.
Back in 1918, seven firefighters tragically died in a fire at a cattle food manufacturers, which was on the Albert Embankment in Lambeth, south London, while several others were also left injured.
The event itself took place at the site of the blaze, which subsequently went on to become the brigade’s headquarters for a prolonged period of time, being active from 1937 to 2008.
Sub-officers Walter Hall and William Cornford perished in the fire, along with John Coote Johnson, James Fay, Arthur Page, William Nash and Edmund Fairbrother, all of whom were firefighters.
Just a week before the fire, Mr Fay had returned from active duty in World War One.
The actual cause of the fire was never found out, however, London Fire Brigade believe that the most likely cause for the blaze was rats chewing through electrical cables.
As such, the sparks would have then ignited the oil, spices and linseed cake that was stored in the warehouse.
The brigade added that heavy smoke and heavy fog “forced the men to wear helmets, which reduced their visibility and meant they could not see as an outer wall collapsed on top of them”.
London Fire Brigade’s director of operations, Tom George, said the seven men “represent a long line of brave and remarkable firefighters who to this day continue to put themselves in the line of danger to protect others”.
