London Ambulance Service loans ambulances to Jewish community following devastating arson attack

London Ambulance Service loaned four ambulances to Jewish voluntary ambulance service Hatzola at a poignant handover event in north-west London yesterday (24 March) following the devastating arson attack.

Hours after the attack in the early hours of Monday morning, LAS Chief Executive Jason Killens visited the scene of the attack in Golders Green with Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP to confirm the support package.

The Make Ready and operational teams at the Service worked to prepare the vehicles for use by Hatzola so their highly trained volunteers can continue to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day.

At the handover event, James Johnson, Associate Director of Operations for North Central at London Ambulance Service and operational lead for the area met Hatzola volunteers and Department of Health Minister Karin Smyth MP. The volunteers offered the visitors lunch and gave them a tour of the site.

James Johnson said: “Antisemitism is not welcome in London and across the country.

“Despite this tragic event, we stand together in solidarity with Hatzola and we are really pleased to support them with four ambulances.

“We look forward to continuing to provide healthcare to Londoners with Hatzola as our longstanding partners as we have done for many decades and we are glad that we can be there for the Jewish community in London during this harrowing time.”

Hatzola Chair Shloimie Richman was moved by the offer of support at the handover and thanked the London Ambulance as the team dropped them at a secure site in north London.

Speaking at the event alongside James Johnson, he said: “Monday morning was the darkest day in the 50 years of our existence.

“Who would ever dream that ambulances – whose sole purpose is to provide emergency care and save lives – could be the target of this heinous attack.

“However, through that darkness, we saw incredible light and show of strength and love from the people around us.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the emergency services who provided an incredible response throughout the night, including our colleagues at the London Ambulance Service who have provided us with these four vehicles so our services can continue uninterrupted.”

The four ambulances will be on loan to Hatzola until permanent replacements are in place.

London Ambulance Service has a fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles. It has plans in place to manage scheduled maintenance or mechanical failures to ensure it does not impact on day-to-day operations.