The comments by local firefighters, including a staff member on duty that evening at Holloway Fire Station, regarding the apparent delay in fire engines arriving at the Pollards Close fire incident are extremely disturbing (“Accusations rife over Holloway fire death”, Gazette, December 9).

The Fire Brigade’s stated main aim is for all engines to arrive at a fire scene in the shortest time possible as any delay may contribute to the loss of life.

This is why I have asked for an immediate investigation into this tragic incident, to look in particular at whether the absence of a fire engine affected performance in the response time. If people were put at risk unnecessarily this is completely unacceptable.

I am hopeful that a negotiated settlement to the current industrial dispute can be reached very soon and that those in charge can be persuaded to act with more restraint in future dealings with the Fire Brigades Union.

On behalf of the Labour group members on the Fire Authority, I would like to extend our condolences to Mr Kendrick and his family at this difficult time. – Councillor Navin Shah AM, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow and lead Labour member on the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, SE1.