History of firefighting Europe at the time, was the scene of several great fires in the 16th century. As a consequence, King Charles IX disbanded the residents' night watches and left the king's watches as the only one responsible for checking crimes and fires. London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and above all in 1666 (the Great Fire of London). The Great Fire of 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane, consumed about two square miles (5 km²) of the city, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Prior to this fire, London had no organized fire protection system. Afterwards,
Pudding Mill Lane DLR station nearby. A new, larger station built a short distance to the south opened on 28 April 2014. The station is located on the DLR's Stratford branch, between the Bow Church and Stratford stations and is on the boundary between Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3. The plans for the DLR to Stratford included an option for a station at Pudding Mill Lane. Funding was not available to build the station, but the location was one of two places safeguarded for future development, the other being Langdon Park. Pudding Mill Lane was opened on 15 January 1996. Previously this location had