Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service posts end of year card
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue has published its end of year results for 2008/09 with improvements registered in many of the target areas.
Targets were set across the board in a range of activities including reducing the number of deliberate vehicle fires, deliberate small fires, primary fires and accidental fires, confining fires to their room of origin, reducing attendance at false alarms, reducing the number of fires in non-domestic premises and increasing the percentage of people escaping accidental dwelling fires.
In almost all aspects the report shows that Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s preventative measures have resulted in fewer incidents as the general public becomes more aware of safety measures that they can take to avoid fires or to increase the chances of safely escaping.
Educating and engaging with young people has also resulted in fewer cases of arson and the campaigns to clear abandoned cars has continued to minimise the incidence of vehicle arson.
The number of deliberate primary vehicle fires (-17%), deliberate small fires (-28%), fire injuries in accidental dwelling fires (ADFs) (-58%), accidental dwelling fires
(-11%), fires in non-domestic premises (-29%) have all been reduced.
Similarly, the percentage of people escaping ADFs (+6%), fires confined to room of origin (+5%) and the %age of dwelling fires where the smoke alarms have activated (approx 1.5%)have risen.
Councillor Richard Hobbs, portfolio holder for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service said that he was encouraged that areas where the service had directed a lot of resources had shown positive results in the report.
“We have stepped up home fire safety checks and seen a fall in accidental dwelling fires. Where they have still occurred, we have given residents exit strategies that have allowed them to escape uninjured.
“Working with young people on projects such as FLARE or Firebreak (schemes targeting potentially vulnerable young people) and links with Positive about Young People have helped us to put across important messages on the dangers of arson and we are seeing a downturn in the numbers of incidents.
“Car Clear, a scheme in which we remove abandoned vehicles, has helped bring down the number of fires in vehicles and our work with businesses has done a huge amount to make them safer.
“To be fair, the report highlights areas where we are still dissatisfied with the progress. We are very eager to see a working smoke alarm in every dwelling in the county which is a long way from the case at the moment. Whilst we are increasing the number of home fire safety checks this year, we will be looking at other ways of communicating this very important message.”