Museum devoted to London fire brigade facing closure

Campaigners are fighting to save another museum in Southwark after London Assembly member Brian Coleman said the London Fire Brigade Museum is "a luxury we can no longer afford".

Coleman was speaking at a meeting of the assembly's budget and performance committee early last month in his capacity as chairman of the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority, which runs the London Fire Brigade. His comments come after Southwark Council shut the Livesey Museum earlier this year as a cost-cutting measure (see link below).

The London Fire Brigade Museum, which is open by appointment only, attracts about 6,000 visitors a year. It has two-full time staff, nine volunteers and an annual budget of £84,000.

Coleman, who plans to make savings to non-frontline services in the fire brigade, said: "It is not a museum that is fit for purpose or contributes anything. It has no disabled access, very few visitors and is in the wrong place. It has some interesting items, but when you have seen one brass helmet, you have seem them all."

Tony Sweeney, who used to work at the London Fire Brigade, is part of a group of museum volunteers who are campaigning to keep the museum open. They have set up an online petition and a Facebook group.

"The museum is actually supporting the brigade's main purpose, which is fire prevention, and they are going to close it, which is insane," Sweeney said.

Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) London is trying to bring the various stakeholders together. Head of advocacy and campaigns Andrew Holden said: "What we are trying to do is head off any precipitous decision, get the parties round the table and see what some of the options might be."

A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman said: "The brigade is currently looking at a range of options for the museum, and a paper will be presented to the authority for their decision in due course."

Coleman, who refused to speak to Museums Journal, is expected to see the briefing paper this month.