Bonfire Night fires have fallen by almost 75 percent since 2006 in London, in an encouraging, but slowing, trend, suggesting that fire safety warnings are working.
November 5 has traditionally been fire brigades’ busiest night, as home firework displays go wrong, and the period around Halloween, Diwali (which this year fell on November 3), and Bonfire Night itself a week ago, usually sees a spike in fire incidents. Click here to view Figure 1. Figures released by London Fire Brigade revealed that Bonfire Night 2013 was the quietest on record, with just 119 fires in the capital, down slightly from 125 last year, and continuing a downward trend that has seen fires reduced from 460 in 2006 on November 5. This represents an incredible 74.13 percent reduction in Bonfire Night incidents in the past seven years, underlining some of the excellent prevention and awareness work that has been undertaken by fire services in recent years. In a statement, London’s Fire Commissioner said:
We work very hard to remind the public about the importance of staying safe on Bonfire Night, and it’s brilliant that the number of fires is dropping on a yearly basis. Everyone at the London Fire Brigade strives to bring the number of call outs down year on year, so we’re very pleased that this was once again our quietest Bonfire Night on record.
The number of fires in London on Bonfire Night has reduced every year since 2009 — when there was an 8 percent rise on the previous year from 209 to 226 fire incidents. Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service revealed a dramatic reduction in calls received when compared to last year. In 2012, control room operators in Manchester received 649 calls, which was down by over 50 percent this year to 306 calls. The service revealed there were “no major incidents,” and put the reduction down to awareness work, as well as damp conditions and the fact that Bonfire Night fell in midweek this year.
Forty percent reduction in Scotland
The new single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service faced its first official Bonfire Night, making statistic gathering somewhat easier across the country, and the fire service reported 1,088 incidents, including a major fire in a disused hospital building in Aberdeen. The blaze at the Royal Cornhill Hospital took 70 firefighters almost 24 hours to tackle, and the blaze is currently being treated as “unexplained,” according to the fire service. Click here to view Figure 2. Provisional figures revealed that there was an overall reduction in fire incidents of around 40 percent across Scotland. Assistant Chief Officer Lewis Ramsay, Director of Prevention and Protection for SFRS, praised his crews, control rooms, and support staff, saying:
This year we issued a call to action for everyone in our communities to Join Scotland’s Fight Against Fire. By acting safely and responsibly and attending organised displays, the public have made Scotland safer than ever before.
Worryingly, the Scottish FRS also reported 20 incidents of attacks on SFRS crews across the country.
2023 Fire Safety eBook – Grab your free copy!
Download the Fire Safety in 2023 eBook, keeping you up to date with the biggest news and prosecution stories from around the industry. Chapters include important updates such as the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and an overview of the new British Standard for the digital management of fire safety information.
Plus, we explore the growing risks of lithium-ion battery fires and hear from experts in disability evacuation and social housing.
