Police who worked to save lives as fire raged at a Hornchurch care home last summer were invited to parliament this week by local MP, Julia Lopez, to thank them for their incredible service. The invitation from the Hornchurch & Upminster MP followed the formal recognition of the officers by the Metropolitan Police for their courage.
The blaze at assisted living facility, Mavis Court, on 19 July was spotted by two PCs as they patrolled Station Lane. Thanks to their quick thinking, they began an immediate evacuation, soon backed up by a group of local officers who arrived on the scene. Together, they searched the premises as fire ripped through the loft space of the three storey building and helped elderly residents from their homes - some of whom suffered from dementia as well as sight and hearing loss.
The incident was declared as critical but with agreement from the Fire Service, the officers continued to re-enter the building with some later suffering from smoke inhalation. Despite the seriousness of the fire, only two residents were hospitalised, and no other injuries were sustained. As the immediate danger subsided, officers stayed on the scene to help residents, aided by Havering Council’s Emergency Planning Manager, who was also invited to parliament this week in recognition of her fantastic assistance to the police team.
Speaking about Monday’s event, Mrs Lopez said, ‘The bravery and quick-thinking of local officers last summer saved the lives of some of my most vulnerable constituents. It was an honour to welcome them to parliament this week to recognise their actions and to highlight some of the fantastic work that the police do in keeping people safe. I was also glad to have the chance to talk through some of the challenges of their roles in bearing down on local crime, particularly knife crime. They carry out a difficult job and I wanted to thank them on behalf of residents for all that they do.’
In other developments from the local MP and her team on policing:
- Mrs Lopez has written to Havering Council to highlight that new, tougher sentencing guidelines for retailers convicted of selling knives to children comes into force from 1 April. She has asked that the Council's Trading Standards team undertakes an awareness campaign with retailers across the borough. They have now committed to visiting all those shops selling knives locally.
- The Havering Joint Task Force has shared progress on their February operations, including 20 arrests, 33 stop and searches, the recovery of 6 stolen vehicles and seizing of 11 illegal vehicles. The Task Force is based in Hornchurch Police Station - one of the reasons why Mrs Lopez has launched a petition to keep the site in Met hands. That petition now has over 800 signatures but the local MP is asking more residents to sign up here.
- Mrs Lopez is to meet New City College Principal this month to talk about community safety following a knife attack on a student near to the Ardleigh Green campus.
- In the wake of recent violent offences in Havering, the Hornchurch & Upminster MP has written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to reinforce her earlier calls for additional police officers and resources in Havering alongside the retention of Hornchurch Police Station. She will update constituents as soon as she receives a reply.
- Mrs Lopez and her team convened a meeting of faith leaders in Harold Hill, at which the response to a recent attack in Romford Town Centre, and the safety of women and girls, was discussed with Inspector Matthew Feather of the Borough Command Unit. She welcomes the imposition of a Section 35 dispersal zone by the Met in the area to bear down on anti-social behaviour after residents shared their concerns about safety for local Hornchurch & Upminster residents visiting the shopping area.
