Official Statistics

Detailed analysis of response times to fires attended by fire and rescue services: England, April 2021 to March 2022

Published 15 December 2022

Applies to England

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Frequency of release: Annual

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

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Headline findings on average response times to fires, by type of fire, can be found in the latest quarterly Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics England, year ending June 2022, published 10 November 2022. A summary of the average response times for the financial year 2021 to 2022 is provided here, with this release providing additional detailed analysis to what is already published. This additional analysis includes response times by Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) type, response time components, response time distribution by one-minute bands, and outcomes.

Key results

As previously published, the average response time to primary fires in the year ending March 2022 was 8 minutes and 50 seconds: an increase of 15 seconds compared with the year ending March 2021. The largest component was drive time which increased by 17 seconds to 5 minutes 55 seconds.

Total response time is the minutes and seconds elapsed from the time of call to the arrival of the first vehicle at the incident.

The following incidents are not included in response time totals:

a. Road vehicle fires, where the road vehicle was abandoned.
b. Where the location of the fire was a derelict property.
c. Where an FRS learned of the fire when it was known to have already been extinguished (known as “late calls”).
d. Where the total response time for an incident was over an hour or less than one minute (to avoid erroneous data or exceptional incidents from skewing the averages).
e. Where the sequence of events (time of call - mobilisation - vehicle mobile - arrival at scene) in an incident is not recorded in a logical sequence, either through recording error (for example, a vehicle appears to have arrived before it left) or absence of data (null values).

To provide context for the rest of the report, as previously published, in the year ending March 2022:

  • the average total response time to primary fires (potentially more serious fires that could harm people or cause damage to property)[footnote 1] in England was 8 minutes and 50 seconds: an increase of 15 seconds since the year ending March 2021 (Source: FIRE1001)

  • all primary fire types showed an increase in average response times - dwellings by 16 seconds, other buildings by 13 seconds, road vehicles by 21 seconds and outdoor primary fires (by far the smallest category of primary fire) by 9 seconds

  • the average total response time to secondary fires (which can broadly be thought of as smaller outdoor fires, not involving people or property) in England decreased by 10 seconds, compared with the year ending March 2021, to 9 minutes and 13 seconds

Overall, response times to fires increased gradually between the year ending March 1995 and year ending March 2015. There was then a plateau at around 8 minutes and 40 seconds from the year ending March 2015 to the year ending March 2018. Every year since response times have increased except from the year ending March 2021, where drive times decreased probably due to decreased traffic levels due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The average total response time to primary fires in year ending March 2022 was 8 minutes and 50 seconds, an increase of 47 seconds over the past decade, and an increase of 12 seconds in the past 5 years - the pattern across different types of fire was varied (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1: Average total response times (minutes) by type of fire, England; year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2022

2. Total response times by type of Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA)

Of the 44 fire and rescue authorities (FRAs)[footnote 2], 39 showed an increase in average total response time to primary fires between year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2022 and 5 showed a decrease. Source: FIRE1001.

FRAs can be split into 3 rural-urban classifications (predominantly rural, significantly rural and predominantly urban)[footnote 3] and by whether they are metropolitan or non-metropolitan[footnote 4].

Type of FRA 2021/22 2020/21 Change since 2020/21 2016/17 Change since 2016/17 2011/12 Change since 2011/12
England 8m 50s 8m 35s +15s 8m 38s +12s 8m 03s +47s
Predominately rural 10m 45s 10m 28s +17s 10m 17s +28s 9m 50s +55s
Significantly rural 9m 58s 9m 42s +16s 9m 35s +23s 8m 41s +1m 17s
Predominately urban 7m 32s 7m 20s +12s 7m 35s -3s 7m 09s +23s
Metropolitan 7m 09s 6m 57s +12s 7m 12s -3s 6m 55s +14s
Non-metropolitan 9m 53s 9m 39s +14s 9m 36s +17s 8m 48s +1m 5s

Source: FIRE1001

Average response times to primary fires are quicker in predominantly urban areas and quicker still in the subset of predominantly urban FRAs which are metropolitan. The difference in average total response times between predominantly urban and predominantly rural FRAs has been around 2 to 3 minutes every year since year ending March 2010. All types of FRA exhibited gradual increases in average response time between year ending March 2010 and year ending March 2019 before decreasing in the subsequent 2 years. This was likely due in part to the reduced traffic levels seen as a result of government guidance related to travel and restrictions on social activity, including 3 national lockdowns, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Average response times in year ending March 2022 are now following the previous trend of gradual increase.

Figure 2.1: Average total response times (minutes) to primary fires by type of fire authority, England; year ending March 2010 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1001

3. Response times components

The total response time (from time of call to time of first arrival) can be divided into 3: call handling time, crew turnout time and drive time. This is the fourth year that these breakdowns of the average response time have been published, in response to user need and to help explain which parts of the emergency response chain have changed over time. These data are drawn from the electronic IRS and so are only available from year ending March 2010 onwards (see FIRE1001).

Call handling time is the duration between the time of call and the point at which the station is alerted.

Crew turnout time is the duration between the time at which the station is alerted and the time the first vehicle departs, meaning the time it takes for the firefighters to prepare to leave.

Drive time is the duration between the time the first vehicle leaves to the time at which the first vehicle arrives at the scene of the incident (not necessarily the same vehicle).

The response time components are shown in the diagram below.

Key results

In year ending March 2022:

  • the average call handling time for primary fires increased by one second compared with the year ending March 2021 to one minute 21 seconds, following a period of general decrease since a peak of one minute 27 seconds in the year ending March 2016

  • the average crew turnout time for primary fires decreased by 3 seconds compared with the year ending March 2021 to one minute 34 seconds, this follows a period of general decrease since the year ending March 2010

  • the average drive time for primary fires increased by 17 seconds compared with the year ending March 2021 to 5 minutes 55 seconds, following the period of general increase since year ending March 2010

The average call handling time for primary fires increased between year ending March 2010, the first year in which response time component data became available, and year ending March 2011 and then remained broadly stable at around one minute 11 seconds until year ending March 2013. There was then a period of successive increases which peaked at one minute 27 seconds in year ending March 2016, followed by decreases in each year until an increase in the year ending March 2022 (see Figure 3.1). The average call handling time for secondary fires has followed a similar trend over the same period, although has exhibited slightly more variability in the last 4 years (see Figure 3.2).

The average crew turnout time for primary fires has been on a downward trend since data became available, from one minutes 53 seconds in year ending March 2011 to one minute 37 seconds in year ending March 2021. In the year ending March 2022, there was a slight decrease of 3 seconds to one minute 34 seconds (see Figure 3.1). The average crew turnout time for secondary fires has followed a similar trend over the same period (see Figure 3.2).

Crew turnout times for predominantly rural FRAs are typically a minute to a minute and a half longer than predominantly urban ones in each year, likely due to the higher proportion of on-call firefighters (also referred to as ‘retained duty system firefighters’) who first need to get to a station once alerted. Predominantly rural FRAs showed the greatest decrease in crew turnout time since year ending March 2013.

The average drive time to primary fires steadily increased from 5 minutes one second in year ending March 2011, the first year in which data became available, to a peak of 5 minutes 49 seconds in year ending March 2019. This was followed by a decrease of 3 seconds to 5 minutes 46 seconds in year ending March 2020, and a further decrease of 8 seconds in year ending March 2021 to 5 minutes 38 seconds. This decrease was likely due to lower traffic volumes, due to government guidelines and restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year ending March 2022, drive times increased by 17 seconds to a peak of 5 minutes 55 seconds (see Figure 3.1). The average drive time for secondary fires has followed a similar trend over the same period (see Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.1: Average response time (minutes) to primary fires by response time component, England; year ending March 2010 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1001

Figure 3.2: Average response time (minutes) to secondary fires by response time component, England; year ending March 2010 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1001

Response to dwelling fires has had the quickest times for all 3 of the response time components, since data became available in year ending March 2010. This likely reflects the relative ease with which a street address can be communicated on the telephone and the urgency with which an FRS responds to fires with the greatest potential risk to life. Other outdoor fires, by contrast, are typically among the slowest responses in all 3 categories, which could reflect the difficulty of describing an outdoor location without a street address (call handling) and the difficulty of finding it once mobile (drive time).

The plateau and slight decrease in average total response time to primary fires between year ending March 2016 and year ending March 2018 (see Figure 3.1) was predominantly the result of decreases in crew turnout times in all FRA types. The decrease seen between year ending March 2020 and year ending March 2021 was predominantly due to decreases in average drive time, which fell by 3 seconds in year ending March 2020 and 8 seconds in year ending March 2021. As previously mentioned, this was likely due in part to the reduced traffic levels seen at various times throughout the last 2 years as a result of government guidance related to travel and restrictions on social activity, including 3 national lockdowns, in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the increase in the year ending March 2022 likely reflects the increasing traffic volume following easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

A range of possible factors could have contributed to the general increase in average total response time to primary fires between year ending March 2011 and year ending March 2019 (see Figure 3.1). These may include changing traffic levels, ‘drive to arrive’ policies[footnote 5] and control staff typically asking more questions of the caller to better assess the risk and attendance needed. The possibility that changes to crew health and safety policies (for example, that firefighters should dress in their personal protective equipment before boarding the appliance rather than en route in a moving vehicle) could have increased response times seems unlikely as there was a sustained reduction in crew turnout times during this period.

It should be noted that it is difficult to isolate the impact of any individual factor on response times. There may well be other factors not yet mentioned, local or national, which have an effect. Other factors that are of potential relevance here include the phenomenon of urban sprawl and new housing developments outdating the strategic positioning of fire stations.

4. Distribution of total response times

The previous chapters present (mean) average response times; however, many FRSs measure their performance based on the proportion of incidents attended within various target times. Fire statistics table FIRE1004 provides incident counts by one-minute bands (including 60 minutes) for primary and secondary fires.

Key results

In year ending March 2022:

  • the most common response time band for primary, dwelling, other building and secondary fires was 6 to 7 minutes

  • 41% of all primary fires were responded to within 7 minutes, down 2% compared with the year ending March 2021

  • 49% of dwelling fires were responded to within 7 minutes, down 3% compared with the year ending March 2021

  • 41% of other building fires were responded to within 7 minutes, down 2% compared with the year ending March 2021

  • 36% of secondary fires were responded to within 7 minutes, up 2% compared with the year ending March 2021

For all fire types covered in this section (all primary fires dwelling, other building & secondary) the most frequent response time band was 6 to 7 minutes. A greater proportion of dwelling fires were responded to within 7 minutes (49%), relative to the other fire types, again likely due to the comparative ease of describing street addresses via telephone and the urgency with which FRSs respond to fires with increased risk to life or property. For both other building fires and all primary fires the proportion responded to within 7 minutes was 41%. A smaller proportion of secondary fires were responded to within 7 minutes (36%) likely due to these incidents typically being less urgent and or occurring in more rural locations.

Figure 4.1: Proportion of primary fires in dwellings attended by FRSs in one-minute total response time bands, England; year ending March 2012, year ending March 2017, year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1004

Figure 4.2: Proportion of primary fires in other buildings attended by FRSs in one-minute total response time bands, England; year ending March 2011, year ending March 2017, year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1004

Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2 show the proportional distribution of total response times by one-minute bands for primary fires in dwellings and other buildings in England.

The movement of curves to the right, relative to the year ending March 2012 curve shows the general increase in the average response time to these 2 fire types during that period. The curves also show an increase in percentages for 20 to 60 minutes, as this category covers 40 minutes rather than one minute.

The minimal lateral movement of the year ending March 2022 curve for dwelling fires, relative to the year ending March 2017 curve, reflects the general plateau during that period. Overall, the proportion of dwelling fires responded to in each time band has remained relatively stable over the last 10 years. There has been a very similar story for other building fires.

5. Response times and outcomes

There is no straightforward relationship between response times and the outcome of a fire. Many factors outside the control of FRSs will affect the outcome of fires including the type of fire and the time elapsed before the fire was discovered. However, assuming that slower response times may be associated with an increase in harms, this section looks at response times in relation to casualties, rescues, and areas of damage.

Key results

In year ending March 2022:

  • the average total response time to dwelling fires involving casualties and/or rescues in England was 7 minutes 39 seconds; this was an 8 second increase compared with year ending March 2021 and an increase of 47 seconds since year ending March 2010

  • the average total response time to dwelling fires without casualties and/or rescues was 7 minutes 53 seconds; this was a 16 second increase compared with year ending 2021 and an increase of 39 seconds since year ending March 2010

  • the average area of fire damage to dwellings (excluding those incidents with areas of damage over 5,000m2) in England decreased from 14.8m2 in year ending 2021 to 14.2m2 - at the same time the average response time to dwelling fires increased by 16 seconds (Source: FIRE0204 & FIRE1001)

Dwelling fires with casualties (including fatalities) and/or rescues have had consistently faster average response times than dwelling fires with no casualties and/or rescues (Figure 5.1). Although these comprise a relatively small number of incidents (10% of dwelling fires in the calculations since year ending March 2010 involved casualties and/or rescues), so are potentially more susceptible to fluctuations in average response times. The pattern is consistent across all years in the series (between 9% and 10% in each year). This difference in response times to dwelling fires with casualties and/or rescues compared with those without, is generally most strongly apparent in the drive time, which was 11 seconds faster in year ending March 2022. This suggests that while dwelling fires are responded to the most quickly of all primary fire types (Figure 1.1), response times appear to reduce even further for incidents that appear to involve a risk to life, if it has been possible to collect this information from the caller.

To note, in year ending March 2022, the crew turnout time was also 3 seconds faster for dwelling fires with casualties and/or rescues compared with those without. This is the first year, since data became available in year ending March 2010, in which the drive time was not the only call component responsible for faster response times to dwelling fires with a risk to life.

Between year ending March 2011 and year ending March 2019 average total response times generally increased, yet the average area of damage in both dwelling and ‘other building’ fires decreased (Figure 5.1, Figure 5.2). This would seem counterintuitive as it could be assumed that increased response time would have led to increased spread due to later starting of firefighter activity. However, this assumption may have been countered by improved early detection (the proportion of households with a working smoke alarm has remained high[footnote 6]), the gradual replacement of old furnishings with newer materials with improved fire resisting properties, new buildings with sprinkler systems and numerous other factors which are difficult to quantify.

The average area of fire damage in dwelling fires decreased by 2.5% over the 3 years between the year to march 2019 and the year to march 2022 (Figure 5.1, whilst the average area of fire damage in other buildings decreased by 6.6% (over the same 3 years) Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.1: Average total response times (RT) to dwelling fires with and without casualties or rescues and average extent of damage (excluding 5,000+ m2) for dwelling fires, England; year ending March 2010 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1002 & FIRE0204

Figure 5.2: Average total response time (RT) and average extent of damage (excluding 1,000+ m2) for other building fires, England; year ending March 2010 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0305 & FIRE1001

Further information

This release contains statistics about response times to fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England. The statistics are sourced from the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS). This system allows FRSs to complete an incident form for every incident attended, be it a fire, a false alarm or a non-fire incident (also known as a Special Service incident). The online IRS was introduced in April 2009. Previously, paper forms were submitted by FRSs and an element of sampling was involved in the data compilation process.

Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics and other Home Office statistical releases are available via the Statistics at Home Office pages on the GOV.UK website.

Data tables linked to this release and all other fire statistics releases can be found on the Home Office’s fire statistics data tables page.

Guidance for using these statistics and other fire statistics outputs, including a Quality Report, is available on the Home Office’s fire statistics guidance page.

The information published in this release is kept under review, taking into account the needs of users and burdens on suppliers and producers, in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or enquiries, please contact the team via email using [email protected] or via the user feedback form on the Home Office’s fire statistics collection page.

Revisions

The IRS is a continually updated database, with FRSs adding incidents daily. The figures in this release refer to records of incidents that occurred up to and including the end of March 2022. This includes incident records that were submitted to the IRS by 3 October 2022, when a snapshot of the database was taken for the purpose of analysis. As a snapshot of the dataset was taken on 3 October 2022, the statistics published may not match those held locally by FRSs and revisions may occur in the future. This is particularly the case for statistics with relatively small numbers, such as fire-related fatalities. For instance, this can occur because coroner’s reports may mean the initial view taken by the FRS will need to be revised; this can take many months, even years, to do so.

COVID-19 and the impact on the IRS

The figures presented in this release relate to incidents attended by FRSs during year ending September 2022.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales started from 12 March 2020. In England, 3 lockdowns which applied strict limits on daily life were imposed. A first lockdown was applied on 23 March 2020 and was eased from 15 June 2020, a second lockdown began on 5 November 2020 and ended on 2 December 2020 and the third began on 4 January 2021 and ended on 12 April 2021. The restrictions and lockdowns are therefore captured in IRS data for this year and the comparator year.

Extra analyses on fire and rescue response times during this period can be found in the year to March 2021 edition of this release.

Home Office publish 5 other statistical releases covering fire and rescue services.

These include:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also publish statistical releases on fire

These include:

Fire statistics are published by the other UK nations:

Scottish fire statistics and Welsh fire statistics are published based on the IRS. Fire statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service using data from a system similar to the Incident Recording System, which means that they are not directly comparable to English, Welsh and Scottish data.

This statistical bulletin is produced to the highest professional standards and is free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in accordance with the Home Office’s Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which covers Home Office policy on revisions and other matters. The Chief Statistician reports to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office Statistics products with respect to the Code, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology.

  1. For more detailed technical definitions of different types of fire, see the Fire statistics definitions document. ↩

  2. Hampshire and Isle of Wight merged into a single FRS on 1st April 2021. ↩

  3. As defined by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ 2011 Rural-Urban Classification of Local Authorities and other geographies. ↩

  4. Metropolitan FRAs are a subset of those in the predominantly urban category, while non-metropolitan comprises those in predominantly rural, significantly rural and the remainder of predominantly urban FRAs. ↩

  5. ‘Drive to arrive’ policies require drivers to modify driving depending on risk, in order to reduce the number of incidents whilst mobile. ↩

  6. See Fire prevention and protection statistics, England, April 2021 to March 2022. ↩

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