The latest national fire statistics published by the quarterly Fire Statistics Monitor, covering the 12-month period up to 31 December 2005, show that the total number of fire related deaths of 485 for the period continue to fall and it is the lowest since 1959.
The Fire Statistics Monitor is published quarterly by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and includes provisional figures on fires, fire deaths and injuries, and false alarm calls.
Key statistics include:
- The UK Fire and Rescue service attended 867,000 fires or false alarms (695,000 in England) - 3% less than in the previous year.
- The total number of fires attended in the UK fell by 3% to 428,000.
- The number of primary fires (fires involving property, vehicles and/or casualties) fell by 7% to 168,000 - the lowest since 1988.
- Secondary fires fell by less than 1% to 251,000.
- There were 57,400 fires in the home, a fall of 4% compared with the previous year.
- In England, there were 340,000 fires consisting of 139,000 primary fires (of which, 46,300 were in dwellings) and 195,000 secondary fires.
- Fire related deaths recorded in the UK fell to 485 - the lowest total since 1959. Of these deaths 287 were from accidental dwelling fires, compared with 327 a year earlier, a fall of 12%.
- Injuries resulting from fires fell by 4% to 14,000 (of these 9,700 were in accidental dwelling fires).
- In England, 379 fire deaths and 11,200 injuries were recorded.
- There were 212 deaths in accidental dwelling fires compared with 230 in the previous year, a fall of 8%.
- The number of false fire alarms attended in the UK fell by 2% to 438,000. Within this category the number of malicious false alarms fell by 21% to 39,100 whilst false alarms due to apparatus decreased slightly to 285,000.
- In England, a total of 355,000 false alarms were attended.
The Fire Statistics Monitor is available on the DCLG website here:
Fire statistics monitors - Department for Communities and Local Government
