Fire and Rescue service reports positive results at half year mark
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) reported a positive performance at yesterday’s Cabinet for the six months from the end of March.
At the half year mark, 88% of measures are forecast to meet or exceed target compared to 48% at the end of the 2009/10 financial year.
Areas of major improvement have included the number of home fire safety checks delivered by WFRS, reductions in the number of primary fires and their fatalities, as well as a fall in accidental fires.
WFRS co-ordinates the collation of comparison data from other services in England and the county’s performance in reducing accidental dwelling fires is in the upper quartile nationally.
Home Fire Safety Checks have been an integral part of how the service seeks to protect families. Officers attend houses pointing out where fires can often start, safeguarding properties and fitting smoke alarms for early warnings when problems arise.
One area where the target has not been met is in reducing fires in non-domestic properties although the service anticipates that by the end of March, this will have been rectified. Analysis shows that 79% of these fires are accidental. Analysis attributes the higher than anticipated levels to maintenance or replacement of equipment which is not happening as frequently or thoroughly as it should be.
Cllr Richard Hobbs, portfolio holder for Community Protection said: “I am delighted that so much has been achieved in reducing the incidence of fires and the devastation they can cause.
“Prevention is better than cure and we have focussed an increased proportion of our resources on ensuring that properties are protected from the risks of fire. The results of this are borne out in the figures in which the safety of people in the home has been so greatly improved in a short space of time.”