Fire brigade response times increased in six Barnet wards after station closures.

New figures reveal that six wards – Mill Hill, Totteridge, Underhill, West Finchley, East Barnet and Oakleigh – have slower response times since the closure of ten fire stations by Mayor of London Boris Johnson last year.

Mill Hill saw the largest increase, with a response time 20 seconds slower for the first engine to attend in January to August this year, compared with last year.

Totteridge recorded 13 seconds slower, Underhill 12 seconds, West Finchley nine seconds, East Barnet three seconds and Oakleigh one second. A total of eight wards also recorded first engine response times above the six-minute target.

Andrew Dismore, Labour's London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, said: “Barnet has got worse, despite the extra engine at Hendon station. It’s greater because there’s greater demand, but the fact is they have gone up after the stations were closed and engines taken away.

"I am particularly concerned about the Mill Hill one, because the original proposal was to close it. Even though they kept it, it has gone up by a big jump.

“It could also be a product of growing population and increased traffic. If you make cuts at a time of population expansion, they are going to be overstretched. Stop the cuts is the short answer. I think it exposes the argument that was being put forward at the time against the closures.”

Ian Leahair, an executive council member of the Fire Brigade Union, said the figures vindicated the FBU’s arguments against the station closures.

He said: “I think we already knew this was going to happen. It seems as though all the arguments have come to fruition, that if you cut fire stations it will increase response times. It’s been short sighted. We maintained throughout the consultation time that they were putting finances above public safety.

“They have taken 14 engines out of use, meaning every other engine has a greater length to travel. It’s only a matter of time till we see further members of the public put in a dangerous position.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “Between January and August, London-wide attendance times are on target and London Fire Brigade continues to provide the fastest emergency service response in the capital.

“The brigade is still within our London-wide targets to get a first fire engine to an incident in six minutes and a second in eight minutes on average. This is despite 13 engines being removed as part of the contingency service and nine stations being rebuilt.

“The figures are very close to what we predicted in the fifth London safety plan. In many wards where responses have increased, they have done so by less than fifteen seconds.”