London was expanding and the London Fire Brigade had to meet the expansion. The Downham Estate, in SE London, was the London County Council's largest social housing development (Council Estate) on the London and Kent (Bromley) border. Downham fire station, with its single engine, was erected in Reigate Road, on the Downham Estate, to provide fire cover for a much greater life risk than had previously existed. It still stands, although much modernised, in the same location today.