Fire

It was a busy year for the fire service between April 2012 and March 2013. Better fire procedures and risk assessment have reduced overall numbers for fire outbreaks and fatalities but there is still more work to be done.

Whether in a domestic or workplace setting we should make fire prevention a priority on our list of concerns, recently published figures highlight many incidents are preventable and the number of false alarms/hoax calls is still to high, needlessly wasting our already limited fire response capabilities in the UK.

• There were 271 fire fatalities in England in 2012-13. These were 43 (14%) fewer than in 2011-12.
• Three fifths of all fire fatalities were in accidental dwelling fires (168 in 2012-13). These were 20 (11%) fewer than the 188 in 2011-12.
• In 2012-13 there were 3,830 non-fatal fire casualties (excluding first aid cases). These were 11 per cent fewer than in 2011-12.
• Local authority fire and rescue services attended 154,000 fires in England in 2012-13. Outdoor fires accounted for half of fire incidents. These were 44 per cent fewer than in 2011-12, in large part due to the above average rainfall in spring and summer 2012.
• In 2012-13, local authority fire and rescue services attended 231,000 fire false alarms and 135,000 non-fire incidents, of which 28,000 were road traffic collisions and 18,000 were flooding incidents.

Simple steps are all it takes to reduce these statistics and save lives – Install and regularly check fire detection equipment, adopt work processes that use non combustible materials, maintain good levels of housekeeping, ensure a good supply of fire fighting equipment is in place around the home and workplace and that it is regularly serviced, rehearse fire emergency procedures both at work and home so successful escape becomes second nature.