Accredited official statistics

Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending March 2024

Published 25 July 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected].

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-year-ending-march-2024/fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-england-year-ending-march-2024

Frequency of release: Quarterly

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

Press enquiries: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: [email protected]

This quarterly release contains statistics about incidents attended by fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England for the year ending March 2024 covering as far back as comparable figures are available. The statistics are sourced from the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS) and include statistics on all incidents, fire-related fatalities, casualties from fires and response times to fires.

Key results

FRSs attended 600,324 incidents in the year ending March 2024, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the previous year (622,659). Of these incidents, there were 138,977 fires, which was a decrease of 22% compared with the previous year (178,867). These decreases can be attributed to a decrease of 32% in secondary fires and a decrease of 39% in outdoor primary fires, as the comparator year covers the hot, dry summer of 2022.

Figure KR.1: Total incidents attended by incident type, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0102

Notes:

  1. X axis labelling is every other year from 2000 onwards.

In the year ending March 2024, there were 251 fire-related fatalities in 232 fatal fires, compared with 265 fire-related fatalities in 250 fatal fires the previous year.

Figure KR.2: Total fire-related fatalities, England; the year ending March 1982 to the year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0502

Notes:

  1. X axis labelling is every 5 years from 1982 onwards.

1. Incident summary

Incidents that FRSs attend are categorised into fires, non-fire incidents and fire false alarms.

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • 600,324 incidents were attended by FRSs, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the previous year (622,659), an increase of 4.1% compared with 5 years ago (576,594) and an increase of 14% compared with 10 years ago (526,895); Source: FIRE0102, figure KR.1
  • of all incidents attended by FRSs, fires accounted for 23%, fire false alarms 42% and non-fire incidents 35%, compared with fires accounting for 33%, fire false alarms 43% and non-fire incidents 25% 10 years ago; Source: FIRE0102, figure 1.1

Total incidents

The total number of incidents attended by FRSs in England peaked in the year ending March 2004, at over 1 million incidents. For around a decade, there was a general decline in all 3 categories of incidents attended and by the year ending March 2015 there were fewer than half a million incidents, as shown in figure KR.1

Over the past decade, the number of incidents attended by FRSs in England has been on a gradual, if fluctuating, upward trend. In the year ending March 2014, there were around 527,000 incidents attended, which had increased by around 14% to 600,000 by the year ending March 2024. The year ending March 2023 showed the most incidents attended (roughly 623,000) for over a decade, due to the hot, dry summer of 2022. When compared to that high figure, there was a decrease of 3.6% overall in the year ending March 2024.

As figure 1.1 shows the share of incidents between incident types has changed since the beginning of the century, with an increasing share of incidents being non-fire incidents over recent years.

Figure 1.1: Total incidents attended by incident type, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0102

Notes:

  1. Non-fire incidents include non-fire false alarms.
  2. X axis labelling is every other year from 2000 onwards.

2. Fires attended

Fire incidents attended are broadly categorised as primary, secondary or chimney fires depending on the location, severity and risk levels of the fire, and on the scale of response needed from FRSs to contain them.

Primary fires
Those that meet at least 1 of the following criteria:
(i) occurred in a (non-derelict) building, vehicle or outdoor structure
(ii) involved a fatality, casualty or rescue
(iii) were attended by 5 or more pumping appliances

Secondary fires
Generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property.

Chimney fires
In (non-industrial) buildings where the flame was contained within the chimney structure.

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 138,977 fires, the smallest rolling year figure since data became available; Source: FIRE0102
  • fires decreased by 22% compared with the previous year (178,867) and decreased by 19% compared with 10 years ago (171,355); Source: FIRE0102
  • there were 61,970 primary fires, a decrease of 7.2% compared with the previous year (66,797), and a decrease of 15% compared with 10 years ago (73,235); Source: FIRE0102
  • there were 74,881 secondary fires, a decrease of 32% compared with the previous year (109,519) and a decrease of 19% compared with 10 years ago (92,133); Source: FIRE0102
  • FRSs attended 695 fires in purpose-built high-rise (10 or more storeys) flats or maisonettes, a decrease of 4.5% compared with the previous year (728); Source: FIRE0205

Total fires

The long-term picture shows that the total number of fires attended by FRSs decreased for around a decade (figure 2.1) - falling by around two-thirds from a peak of around 474,000 in the year ending March 2004 to around 154,000 in the year ending March 2013.

Over the past decade, the number of fires attended by FRSs in England has fluctuated between around 139,000 and 183,000. The number of fires is affected by the weather and the summers of 2013, 2018 and 2022 were hot and dry, which caused high numbers of fires, particularly outdoor primary and secondary fires.

Figure 2.1: Total fires attended by type of fire, England; year ending March 2000 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0102

Notes:

  1. X axis labelling is every other year from 2000 onwards.

Outdoor fires in 2022

The year ending March 2023 showed a high number of fires attended (roughly 179,000) compared to figures over the last decade, due to the hot, dry summer of 2022 when there was a large number of outdoor fires. During the quarter July to September 2022, there were 48,322 secondary fires (this was the largest number of secondary fires in any quarter since April to June 2010, which had 49,635) and 3,997 outdoor primary fires. Compared to the high figure of roughly 179,000 total fires for year ending March 2023, there was a decrease of 22% overall in the year ending March 2024.

The increase in outdoor fires was further discussed in Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending September 2022 Total outdoor fires for summer 2022 and the Outdoor fires section of the Detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services, England, April 2022 to March 2023 release.

Primary fires

The number of primary fires (those considered to be the most serious or with a threat to life or property) has decreased to its second lowest value since 1981, from when comparable data is available.

Primary fires accounted for 45% of total fires in the year ending March 2024. This compares with 37% in the previous year, 40% 5 years ago and 43% 10 years ago. The proportion of total fires accounted for by primary fires has fluctuated year-on-year over the past decade.

There were 38,886 building fires (dwelling and other building fires) in the year ending March 2024, which was 6.5% of all incidents, 28% of all fires and 63% of all primary fires. This reflects the changing mix of incidents and fire types within primary fires over the past decade, as in the year ending March 2014 9.2% of all incidents, 28% of all fires and 66% of all primary fires were building fires.

3. Fire false alarms

Fire false alarms are where an FRS attends a location believing there to be a fire incident but, on arrival, discovers that no such incident exists or existed. These are broadly categorised by motive into ‘due to apparatus’, ‘good intent’ and ‘malicious’.

Due to apparatus

These calls are where a fire alarm or fire-fighting equipment operate (including accidental initiation by persons) in error.

Good intent

These calls are made in good faith in the belief that the FRS really would be attending a fire.

Malicious

These false alarms are made with the intention of getting the FRS to attend a non-existent incident.

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 253,958 fire false alarms, the largest rolling year figure since the year ending March 2011
  • fire false alarms increased by 3.9% compared with the previous year (244,513), increased by 9.8% compared with 5 years ago (231,244) and increased by 13% compared with 10 years ago (224,122); Source: FIRE0102

Fire false alarms by type

The number of fire false alarms attended by FRSs in England was on a general downward trajectory, from a peak of around 393,900 in the year ending March 2002 to a low of around 214,400 in the year ending March 2016.

Since then, with the exception of a period of decreases around the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a gradual increase in fire false alarms to around 254,000 in the year ending March 2024, the highest since year ending March 2011.

Figure 3.1: Total fire false alarms by type of false alarm, England; year ending March 2000 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0102

Notes:

  1. X axis labelling is every other year from 2000 onwards.

Figure 3.1 shows the type of fire false alarm incidents by year. In the year ending March 2024, there were:

  • 181,866 fire false alarms due to apparatus (the highest rolling year figure in the past decade), an increase of 8.5% from the previous year (167,646), an increase of 20% from 5 years previously (151,042) and an increase of 22% from 10 years previously (149,115); Source: FIRE0104
  • 65,616 fire false alarms due to good intent, a decrease of 6.9% from the previous year (70,445), a decrease of 10% from 5 years previously (73,041) and a decrease of 2.6% from 10 years previously (67,390); Source: FIRE0104
  • 6,476 malicious fire false alarms, an increase of 0.8% compared with the previous year (6,422), but a decrease of 9.6% from 5 years previously (7,161) and a decrease of 15% from 10 years previously (7,617); Source: FIRE0104

4. Non-fire incidents attended

FRSs attend many types of incidents that are not fires or fire false alarms. These are known as non-fire incidents or special service incidents. Examples include flooding incidents, responding to road traffic collisions (RTCs), animal assistance and collaborating incidents such as effecting entry or exit and assisting other agencies (a complete list can be found in fire data table FIRE0902).

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 207,389 non-fire incidents, an increase of 4.1% compared with the previous year (199,279), an increase of 28% compared with 5 years ago (162,389) and an increase of 58% compared with 10 years ago (131,418); Source: FIRE0901

Types of non-fire incidents

There was a general decline in the number of non-fire incidents attended between the year ending March 2008 and the year ending March 2015. Figure 4.1shows the number of non-fire incidents over the past decade had 2 clear increases - the first in the year ending March 2016 and the second in the year ending March 2022. It also shows the increase in medical incidents in the second half of the 2010s, the increase in collaboration incidents that started at roughly the same time but has continued into the 2020s, and an increase in other non-fire incidents in the 2020s.

The figure for the year ending March 2021, and in particular the number of RTCs, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 4.1: Total non-fire incidents attended by FRSs, England; year ending March 2000 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0901

Notes:

  1. X axis labelling is every other year from 2000 onwards.

Over the past 10 years, the number of “other non-fire incidents” has increased from roughly 54,700 to approximately 74,600, an increase of 36%. The number of these incidents showed an increase of 7.2% compared to the previous year. This grouping contains a variety of incident types, as provided in Fire statistics definitions. The increase over the past decade in other non-fire incidents occurs for many of the sub-types in this wide-ranging category, though the largest increase is for “no action” - an incident type that covers occasions where a non-fire emergency call is made but action is not required, when the firefighters arrive at the scene. Given there are more non-fire incidents generally, and more assisting other agencies incidents, it follows that the number of “no action” incidents increase as some non-fire incidents will inevitably end in no action.

Table 4.1 shows that collaborating incidents and RTCs increased in the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous year, whereas medical incidents and flooding incidents decreased.

Table 4.1: The main categories of non-fire incidents attended by FRSs in England; year ending March 2023 and year ending March 2024

Non-fire incident type Year ending March 2024 Year ending March 2023 % change
Total non-fire incidents 207,389 199,279 4.1%
Collaborating incidents 67,896 63,681 6.6%
Road traffic collisions (RTCs) 31,849 31,193 2.1%
Flooding incidents 17,795 17,837 -0.2%
Medical incidents 15,201 16,904 -10%
Other non-fire incidents 74,648 69,664 7.2%

Source: FIRE0901, FIRE0902

Collaborating incidents

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 67,896 collaborating incidents[footnote 1], this is the highest rolling year figure since the implementation of the online IRS; Source: FIRE0901
  • collaborating incidents accounted for 33% of non-fire incidents, an increase from 32% from the previous year, 26% 5 years ago and 16% from 10 years ago

The number of collaborating incidents has almost trebled from around 26,000 in year ending March 2016 to around 67,900 in year ending March 2024. These increases coincided with the introduction of the duty to collaborate legislation.

For the year ending March 2024, there were distinct changes in the 3 sub-categories of collaborating incidents on the previous year, with:

  • assisting other agencies increasing by 2.6% to 28,189
  • effecting entry or exit increasing by 9.6% to 36,596
  • assisting at suicide attempts increasing by 10% to 3,111

Medical incidents

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 15,201 medical incidents[footnote 2], a decrease of 10% compared with the previous year (16,904) and a decrease of 24% compared with 5 years ago (19,913), when emergency medical responding trials (EMR) were in operation; Source: FIRE0901
  • medical incidents accounted for 7.3% of non-fire incidents, a decrease from 8.5% the previous year and from 12% 5 years ago

Medical incidents peaked in the year ending March 2017 (45,757), during the EMR trials, and subsequently decreased. Since the year ending March 2019, the number of medical incidents attended has fluctuated between around 13,800 and 19,900 for a rolling year.

Road traffic collisions (RTCs)

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 31,849 RTCs, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year (31,193) and an increase of 2.3% compared with 5 years ago (31,119); Source: FIRE0901
  • RTCs accounted for 15% of non-fire incidents, virtually unchanged compared with the previous year but a decrease from 19% 5 years ago

RTCs generally increased from around 28,000 in the year ending March 2014 to around 31,100 in the year ending March 2019, before falling during the COVID-19 period to around 22,500 in the year ending March 2021. Subsequently the numbers have returned to a level similar to that seen prior to COVID-19.

Flooding incidents

In the year ending March 2024:

  • FRSs attended 17,795 flooding incidents, virtually unchanged compared with the previous year (17,837) but an increase of 33% compared with 5 years ago (13,370); Source: FIRE0901
  • flooding incidents accounted for 8.6% of non-fire incidents, virtually unchanged from 9.0% the previous year and 8.2% 5 years ago; Source: FIRE0901

The number of flooding incidents has fluctuated between around 12,000 and 18,000 over the past decade.

5. Fire-related fatalities and casualties

Fire-related fatalities
Those that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire. For the statistical releases, a fire-related fatality includes those that were recorded as ‘don’t know’.

Non-fatal casualties
Those resulting from a fire, whether the injury was caused by the fire or not.

Fatal fires
Those resulting in at least 1 fatality that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire.

As the IRS is a continually updated database, the statistics published in this release may not match those held locally by FRSs, and revisions may occur in the future (see the revisions section for further detail). This may be particularly relevant for fire-related fatalities, where a coroner’s report could lead to revisions in the data sometime after the incident. It should also be noted that the numbers of fire-related fatalities are prone to year-on-year fluctuations, due to relatively small numbers.

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • there were 251 fire-related fatalities compared with 265 in the previous year (a decrease of 5.3%); Source: FIRE0502
  • there were 180 fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires, compared with 209 in the previous year (a decrease of 14%); Source: FIRE0502
  • there were 3 fatal fires resulting in 3 fire-related fatalities in purpose-built high-rise flats or maisonettes, compared to 4 fatal fires with 4 fire-related fatalities in the previous year; Source: FIRE0205
  • there were 6,339 non-fatal casualties[footnote 3], an increase of 2.3% compared with the 6,198 in the previous year; Source: FIRE0502
  • there were 2,743 non-fatal casualties requiring hospital treatment, an increase of 5.8% compared with the 2,592 in the previous year; Source: FIRE0502

The number of fire-related fatalities in England followed a general downward trend between the year ending March 1982, when comparable figures first became available, and the year ending March 2015. Since then, the number of fire-related fatalities have been erratic but broadly at the same level.

Over the past decade, as shown in figure KR.2 and figure 5.1, the number of fire-related fatalities have fluctuated year-on-year. There were notable increases in the year ending March 2016 (302)[footnote 4] and the year ending March 2018 (338) - the latter of which included 71 fatalities as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire[footnote 5]. Some quarters have shown high numbers of fire-related fatalities over the past few years, resulting in increases in the rolling year figures since the turn of the decade.

The number of fire-related fatalities (60) in the most recent quarter (January to March 2024) compares to 74, 36 and 81 in the previous 3 quarters of the year ending March 2024. It should be noted that the numbers of fire-related fatalities, whether annual or quarterly, are prone to fluctuations due to relatively small numbers.

Fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires are the largest category, accounting for 72% of fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2024. During this year, there were 180 fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires, a decrease of 14% compared with 209 in the previous year.

As shown in figure 5.1, the percentage of primary fires that resulted in a fatality has ranged between 0.3% and just over 0.4% over the past 10 years. With the exception of the year ending March 2018, the ratio of fire-related fatalities and fires that resulted in at least 1 fatality has been relatively stable over the same period. There were 251 fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2024, from 232 fires that resulted in at least 1 fatality.

Figure 5.1: Total fire-related fatalities, primary fires that resulted in at least 1 fatality and the percentage of primary fires that resulted in a fatality England; year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0502

Notes:

  1. Fire-related fatalities are those that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire. Those where the role of fire was “not known” are included in “fire-related”.
  2. X axis labelling is every other year from 2011 onwards.

Fatalities in high-rise flats and maisonettes

In the year ending March 2024, FRSs attended 695 fires in purpose-built high-rise (10 or more storeys) flats or maisonettes, a decrease of 4.5% compared with the previous year (728), a decrease of 16% compared with 5 years ago (829) and a decrease of 15% compared with 10 years ago (815).

Over the 5 years ending in March 2024, FRSs attended 3,740 fires in purpose-built high-rise (10 or more storeys) flats or maisonettes, which resulted in 15 fatal fires and 17 fire-related fatalities. This compared to 3,932 fires, resulting in 18 fatal fires and 88 fire-related fatalities in the 5 years previously ending in March 2019 (note that this 5-year span included the Grenfell Tower fire).

Non-fatal casualties

The number of non-fatal casualties in fires in England has been on a downward trend since the mid-1990s. More detailed data became available in 2009, due to the introduction of the online IRS, and since then the “hospital slight” and “first aid” categories showing the biggest decline.

In the year ending March 2024, there were 6,339 non-fatal casualties, an increase of 2.3% compared with the previous year (6,198). The 4 sub-categories were as follows:

  • 580 hospital severe casualties, an increase of 2.8% compared with the previous year
  • 2,163 hospital slight casualties, an increase of 6.7% compared with the previous year
  • 1,655 first aid casualties, a decrease of 5.3% compared with the previous year
  • 1,941 precautionary check casualties, an increase of 4.4% compared with the previous year

Figure 5.2: Total non-fatal casualties in fires by injury severity, England; year ending March 1982 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE0502

Notes:

  1. These figures are for all non-fatal casualties in fires, whether the fire caused the casualty or not.
  2. X axis labelling is every 10 years from 1980 onwards.

6. Response times to fire incidents

Table FIRE1001 is published alongside this release and shows greater detail than this commentary, for example, breakdowns by time components. Full commentary and further tables for the year ending March 2023 can be found in Detailed analysis of fire response times.

Key results

In the year ending March 2024:

  • the average total response time to primary fires[footnote 6] in England was 9 minutes and 3 seconds, a decrease of 10 seconds on the previous year; Source: FIRE1001
  • the average total response time to secondary fires[footnote 7] in England went from 9 minutes and 47 seconds to 9 minutes and 23 seconds, a decrease of 24 seconds; Source: FIRE1001

The decrease in the year ending March 2024 on the year ending March 2023 was due in part to the decreased number of incidents, since the hot dry summer of 2022 is in the comparator year.

Response times to fire incidents

Total response time
Defined as 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 1 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).

As shown in figure 6.1, response times to fires have increased gradually over the past decade. There was a decrease in the average response time to primary fires in the year ending March 2021, probably due to the impact of less traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this gradual upward trend, there were spikes in the year ending March 2019 and March 2023, probably due to the greater number of incidents in those years.

Figure 6.1: Average total response times (minutes) by type of fire, England; year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2024

Source: FIRE1001

Notes:

  1. Y axis is from 7 to 10 minutes.
  2. X axis labelling is every other year from 2011 onwards.

All primary fires

The average response time to primary fires was 9 minutes and 3 seconds, in the year ending March 2024. This was:

  • a decrease of 10 seconds compared with the previous year (9 minutes and 13 seconds)
  • an increase of 14 seconds compared with 5 years ago (8 minutes and 49 seconds)
  • an increase of 47 seconds compared with 10 years ago (8 minutes and 16 seconds)

Dwelling fires

The average response time to dwelling fires was 8 minutes and 1 second, in the year ending March 2024. This was:

  • virtually unchanged compared with the previous year (8 minutes and 1 second)
  • an increase of 14 seconds compared with 5 years ago (7 minutes and 47 seconds)
  • an increase of 32 seconds compared with 10 years ago (7 minutes and 29 seconds)

Primary outdoor fires

The average response time to other outdoor fires was 11 minutes and 20 seconds, in the year ending March 2024. This was:

  • a decrease of 1 minute 9 seconds compared with the previous year (12 minutes and 29 seconds)
  • a decrease of 14 seconds compared with 5 years ago (11 minutes and 34 seconds)
  • an increase of 1 minute 2 seconds compared with 10 years ago (10 minutes and 18 seconds)

It should be noted that other outdoor fires are numerically the smallest of the main primary fire types, accounting for 7.1% of primary fires in the year ending March 2024. The small number of primary outdoor fires means that the response times are prone to fluctuation, which can impact year-on-year comparisons. These incidents decreased by 39% from the previous year, reflecting the high number of outdoor fires in the hot dry summer of 2022.

Secondary fires

The average response time to secondary fires was 9 minutes and 23 seconds, in the year ending March 2024. This was:

  • a decrease of 24 seconds compared with the previous year (9 minutes and 47 seconds)
  • a decrease of 19 seconds compared with 5 years ago (9 minutes and 42 seconds)
  • an increase of 40 seconds compared with 10 years ago (8 minutes and 43 seconds)

The decrease in the average response time to secondary fires might reflect the 32% decrease in the number of these incidents attended compared with the previous year.

7. Summary of changes over time

Table 7.1: Number of incidents, comparing the year ending March 2024 with 1, 5 and 10 years previously

Incident Type Year ending March 2024 Year ending March 2023 1-year change Year ending March 2019 5-year change Year ending March 2014 10-year change
All incidents 600,324 622,659 -3.6% 576,594 4.1% 526,895 14%
Fires 138,977 178,867 -22% 182,961 -24% 171,355 -19%
Primary fires 61,970 66,797 -7.2% 73,300 -15% 73,235 -15%
Dwellings fires 25,591 26,835 -4.6% 29,599 -14% 31,912 -20%
Accidental dwelling fires 23,008 24,093 -4.5% 26,562 -13% 28,615 -20%
Outdoor primary fires 4,419 7,243 -39% 6,730 -34% 5,137 -14%
Secondary fires 74,881 109,519 -32% 106,322 -30% 92,133 -19%
Fire false alarms 253,958 244,513 3.9% 231,244 9.8% 224,122 13%
Non-fire incidents 207,389 199,279 4.1% 162,389 28% 131,418 58%
Fatalities and non-fatal casualties Year ending March 2024 Year ending March 2023 1-year change Year ending March 2019 5-year change Year ending March 2014 10-year change
Fire-related fatalities 251 265 -5.3% 251 0.0% 276 -9.1%
Fire-related fatalities in dwellings 180 209 -14% 198 -9.1% 215 -16%
Non-fatal casualties 6,339 6,198 2.3% 7,165 -12% 7,819 -19%
Non-fatal casualties requiring hospital treatment 2,743 2,592 5.8% 3,144 -13% 3,453 -21%
Non-fatal casualties in dwellings 4,676 4,554 2.7% 5,240 -11% 6,118 -24%

Table 7.3: Average response times, comparing the year ending March 2024 with 1, 5 and 10 years previously

Type of Fire Year ending March 2024 Year ending March 2023 1-year change Year ending March 2019 5-year change Year ending March 2014 10-year change
Primary fires 9m 03s 9m 13s -10s 8m 49s +14s 8m 16s +47s
Dwellings 8m 01s 8m 01s 0s 7m 47s +14s 7m 29s +32s
Other buildings 9m 03s 8m 56s +7s 8m 35s +28s 8m 04s +59s
Other outdoors 11m 20s 12m 29s -1m 9s 11m 34s -14s 10m 18s +1m 2s
Road vehicles 10m 08s 10m 00s +8s 9m 43s +25s 9m 20s +48s
Secondary fires 9m 23s 9m 47s -24s 9m 42s -19s 8m 43s +40s

Source: Fire statistics data tables

8. Further information

This release contains statistics about 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).

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 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. The Office for Statistics Regulation recently carried out a compliance check of the Home Office’s fire and rescue incident statistics against the Code of Practice and the results can be found in a letter to the Home Office’s Head of Profession published on the OSR website.

If you have any comments, suggestions or enquiries, please contact the team via email using [email protected].

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 2024. This includes incident records that were submitted to the IRS by 15 May 2024, when a snapshot of the database was taken for the purpose of analysis. As a snapshot of the dataset was taken on 15 May 2024, 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 March 2024. There were no restrictions in response to COVID-19 in the latest year or the 3 comparator years. In response to the COVID-19 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.

Extra analyses on fire and rescue incidents during this period can be found in the year ending March 2021 edition of this release, detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services, England, April 2020 to March 2021 and detailed analysis of non-fire incidents: England, April 2020 to March 2021. Additionally extra analysis on Detailed analysis of response times to fires: England, April 2021 to March 2022 is available.

Other related publications

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:

  • the English Housing Survey: fire and fire safety report focuses on the extent to which the existence of fire and fire safety features vary by household and dwelling type and this report focuses on whether people felt safe from fire in their homes by household and dwelling type

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 IRS, which means that it is not directly comparable to English, Welsh and Scottish data.

Accredited Official Statistics status

Following the National Statistics designation review by the Office for Statistics Regulation the term “Accredited Official Statistics” was introduced to describe National Statistics in September 2023. This release was, formerly badged as “National Statistics” and should now be considered “Accredited Official Statistics”. National Statistics is the legal term set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 for “Accredited Official Statistics” that have been judged by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)[footnote 8], to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics (“the Code”). This means these statistics meet the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value as set out in “the Code”. Further information about accredited official statistics can be found on the OSR’s website.

Percentages greater than or equal to 10% have been rounded to the nearest whole number. The term ‘virtually unchanged’ is used in relation to percentage changes of less than 0.5%.

A rolling year in this release is any period of 4 quarters in a row, so either 1 January to 31 December, 1 April to 31 March, 1 July to 30 June or 1 October to 30 September.

  1. Collaborating incidents include “Assisting other agencies”, “Effecting entry or exit” and “Suicide or suicide attempts”. ↩

  2. Medical incidents include “First responder” and “Co-responder” incidents. ↩

  3. For more detailed technical definitions of fire-related and non-fatal casualties, see the Fire statistics definitions document. A further breakdown of the different types of non-fatal casualties is available in the published fire data tables. ↩

  4. For more information on the number of fire related fatalities in the year ending March 2016, see the Fire statistics monitor: April 2015 to March 2016. ↩

  5. For more information on the Grenfell Tower fire and how the associated fire-related fatalities figures are recorded, see the Fire statistics definitions document. ↩

  6. Primary fires are those that meet at least 1 of the following criteria - occurred in a (non-derelict) building, vehicle or outdoor structure or involved a fatality, casualty or rescue or were attended by 5 or more pumping appliances. ↩

  7. Secondary fires are generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property. ↩

  8. OSR are the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority ↩

Back to top