Latest Fire Statistics Show an Increase in Fatalities for 2015/16
Latest figures released by the Home Office show a 15% increase in the number of deaths caused as a result of fire in the last 12 months, with a reported 303 fire-related fatalities. Whilst this is the highest recording of fatalities since 2011/12, the overall trend still shows a decrease over the past decade.
The statistics also show an increase in the number of primary fires (serious fires that cause harm to people or damage to property) from around 71,100 in 2014/15 to 73,400 in 2015/16. The rise, the first in 14 years, is being linked to an 11% increase in the number of deliberate primary fires.
Both deliberate and accidental fires increased in 2015/16 with deliberate fires increasing by 7% and accidental fires increasing by 2% compared to a year earlier. Whilst primary fires in dwellings increased only very slightly during this period, the increase in other building (non-dwelling) fires increased by 3% to 16,000.
A small decrease (1%) in the number of false alarms was also recorded compared with 2014/15, continuing the downward trend. However, the number of malicious false alarms has increased for the first time in 14 years to 6,900, up 2% from 2014/15.
To read the full report from the Home Office click here.
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