A four-month co-responding trial is set to start tomorrow, with fire crews attending some life-threatening incidents.
The pilot scheme will see London Fire Brigade crews attend cardiac and respiratory arrests alongside members of the London Ambulance Service.
The practice is widespread across other parts of the UK but it is the first time emergency services have been merged in the capital.
“We’d be mobilised alongside the ambulance services,” explained Paul Embery, London regional secretary for the Fire Brigade Union (FBU).
“If we’re able to reach the incident before the ambulance we have special equipment such as defibrillators and First Aid.”
The scheme is also being rolled out in Merton today, with Wandsworth and Lambeth following suit on Wednesday next week.
If the pilot is successful, it could be take place permanently across London.
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