Deliberate fires: April 2017 to March 2018

Fires

• The Welsh Fire and Rescue Services attended a total of 6,372 deliberate fires in 2017-18. This is an increase of 7% compared with the previous year, but is only around a quarter of the number in 2001-02. Of these fires, 19% were primary fires.
• In 2017-18, two thirds of deliberate fires were in South Wales, almost a quarter in Mid and West Wales, and a tenth were in North Wales.

Vehicles

• In 2017-18, there were 677 primary fires started deliberately in vehicles, a decrease of 19% compared with the previous year.

School fires

• In 2017-18, there were 8 deliberate fires in schools, equating to almost a third of all fires in schools.

Source and hazardous materials

• Over the last 5 years, furniture and furnishings were the materials first ignited in 18% of deliberate primary fires.
• Of the dangerous substances in deliberate primary fires in total in 2013-14 to 2017-18, 76% were flammable liquids.

Casualties

• In 2017-18, there were 47 non-fatal casualties in deliberate fires. There were no fatalities.