Grade II-listed Lambeth fire station reveals plans to become firefighting museum

Could this be London’s hottest new attraction? Firefighters will become living exhibits in a museum dedicated to the emergency service.

Architects want to install a huge glass wall dividing the building from the new Lambeth fire station next door, allowing visitors to see the day shift being called out on 999 jobs.

The multi-million-pound plans to transform the old grade II-listed fire brigade HQ on Albert Embankment, opposite the Houses of Parliament, will allow it to show off more of its vast collection stretching from the Great Fire in 1666 to the present day.

Many of the 20,000 pieces are kept in storage, but exhibits including uniforms, vehicles, equipment and artwork will be put on display.

Curator Jane Stern said the plans for the museum could triple visitor numbers from the 11,000 people who came to the old building in Southwark Bridge Road in its last full year before it closed in September 2015.

She said: “Because it will be next to the new Lambeth fire station we want to put in a glass wall so visitors can see that link with the past and the present and see the current firefighters at work. So hopefully, if it works out, visitors might see them going out on a shout while they’re visiting the museum.”

Among the exhibits which will be given a new home are a series of paintings created by firefighters working in the capital during the Blitz.

They often took their sketchbooks with them to record the night’s events as they struggled to save the city from intense bombing and the resulting pictures were taken on tour to the United States as part of the attempt to persuade America to join the war. Ms Stern said: “They are incredibly striking images and so it would be nice to be able to show more of them.

“We have one that shows a wall collapsing and looking at it you can feel the fear as the firefighters run to get out of the way.”

The Brigade’s Memorial Hall, which honours firefighters who died on duty, will also be part of the museum and will be open to the public for the first time in 10 years.

Visitors will also be able to research their family history through service records dating back to Victorian times.

Plans for the site at 8 Albert Embankment also include workspaces and 417 new homes. If permission is granted by Lambeth council the new museum is expected to open in 2023.

It would replace a pop-up museum which has been in Lambeth High Street since 2016.

A planning application has been lodged and should be considered later this year.