Data on fires, location, cause, motive, casualties and false alarms and special service incidents attended for April 2017 to March 2018.
This is not the latest release in the series: Fire and rescue incident statistics
Series information:
Fires
- In 2017-18 the number of fires attended by Welsh Fire and Rescue Authorities increased by 3% compared with the previous year. Since 2001-02 there has been a downward trend in the number of fires attended; the 2017-18 figure is 69% lower than in 2001-02.
- The number of primary fires in Wales decreased by 9% over the year from 4,757 in 2016-17 to 4,315 in 2017-18. Primary fires include all fires in non-derelict buildings and vehicles or in outdoor structures, or any fire involving casualties or rescues, or fires attended by five or more appliances.
- In 2017-18 the number of secondary fires rose by 13% compared with 2016-17, and grassland, woodland and crop fires rose by 22% over the same period.
Casualties
- There were 15 fatal casualties from fires in Wales in 2017-18.
- The number of non-fatal casualties was 526 in 2017-18, a decrease of 15% compared with 2016-17. This decrease was largely due to a fall of 24% in those people receiving first aid or sent for precautionary checks.
False alarms
- In 2017-18 there were 14,161 false fire alarms in Wales, down from 14,790 in 2016-17, a decrease of 4%.
- The number of malicious false fire alarms decreased from 441 in 2016-17 to 419 in 2017-18.
Special service incidents
- Fire and rescue authorities in Wales attended 11,583 special service incidents (including false alarms) in 2017-18, a 1% decrease on 2016-17.
Smoke alarms
- In 3 in 10 dwelling fires in Wales in 2017-18, no smoke alarm was installed.
Cause of fires
- In 2017-18 the largest single cause of accidental dwelling fires was misuse of equipment or appliances, equating to 32%. This has consistently been the main cause of accidental dwelling fires since 2001-02.
Response times
- In 2017-18, 63% of primary fires and 71% of dwelling fires in Wales were attended within 10 minutes.
Reports

Fire and Rescue Incident statistics, April 2017 to March 2018 , file type: PDF, file size: 3 MB
PDF
3 MB
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
If you need a more accessible version of this document please email digital@gov.wales. Please tell us the format you need. If you use assistive technology please tell us what this is.
Datasets and interactive tools
Contact
Claire Davey
Telephone: 0300 025 6699
Email: stats.inclusion@gov.wales
Rydym yn croesawu galwadau a gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg / We welcome calls and correspondence in Welsh.
Media
Telephone: 0300 025 8099
Rydym yn croesawu galwadau yn Gymraeg / We welcome calls in Welsh.