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Arson prevention

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To the 2019 statistics for fire incidents in England

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Fire statistics: a good news story

Promising turn

Incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) are categorised into three main types: (1)  fires attended; (2) non-fire incidents; and (3) fire false alarms. In the year ending December 2019 555,759 incidents were attended, a 4% decrease compared with 2018 (see The next step ). A contributor to the overall decrease in incidents was the reduction in actual fires attended, with this category reducing by 12%. There has been no sustained reduction in the number of fires in the last few years although, interestingly, not so long ago there was a drop by two thirds. 474,000 fire incidents were attended in 2003/04, reducing to 154,000 by 2012/13. Since then the numbers have been more or less level. In 2019, for example, there were 157,156 incidents.

Note. The 12% decrease in fires in 2019 compared with the previous year is good news although we’ll need to wait to find out if this is statistically significant; there was a hot summer in 2018 which contributed to a large number of outdoor fires.

Fire deaths

There were 237 fire-related fatalities in 2019 compared with 262 in the previous year. Fire-related fatalities have been on a downward trend since the 1980s and this latest figure is the lowest on record. In terms of non-fatal casualties, there were 7,021 referrals to hospital, an almost identical number relative to the previous year. However, the total hides the fact that a higher percentage of casualties received only a precautionary check, with no treatment required. Overall there was a reduction in the number injured by fire in 2019, 24% lower than in 2008/9.

Arson

In 2019 the total number of deliberate fires decreased by 9% from 79,394 to 72,154. Arson continues to be a threat to businesses. This may be made worse whilst premises have been closed due to the pandemic.

Tip. To review whether your premises is at risk, use our checklist (see The next step ).

Wasted time

Of all the incidents attend by the FRSs in England, fires accounted for 28%, fire false alarms, 41% and non-fire incidents, 30%. As this shows, false alarms (primarily caused by automated fire alarm systems) used more resources than any other category of incident requiring FRS attendance. This story is sadly familiar with numbers remaining roughly the same (220,000 to 230,000) over the last five years.

Tip 1. If your system sets off false alarms regularly and you have it linked to a fire alarm monitoring organisation, you’ll need to act promptly to avoid unnecessary callouts. Not only might you be charged for these by the FRS, you could also be put on a downgraded response. Speak with your fire alarm company to find solutions.

Tip 2. Ensure that you know your local FRS policy on attendance to automatic fire alarm systems and factor this into your procedures. For example, some will not attend a non-sleeping premises unless they receive a phone call from the premises confirming an actual fire.

For a link to the 2019 statistics for fire incidents in England and for an Arson Prevention checklist, visit http://tipsandadvice-healthandsafety.co.uk/download (HS 18.20.03).