Fire and rescue incident statistics: April 2017 to March 2018

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.