London Fire Deaths Halved

In just five years the number of fire-related deaths in London have been reduced by half, according to a new report via London Datastore.

Sadly, last year saw 30 people die due to fire-related incidents. This was the lowest number for fire-related deaths so far this century, and was a notable decrease on the 2010/11 figure of 59.

Though, in the last year, there has been a significant reduction in fatalities of 30%, fire chiefs have warned Londoners not to take their safety for granted. The statistics in the report also reveal that the number of recorded fires have also gradually decreased.

“Fantastic achievement”

In 2010/11 an average of 75 fires per day were recorded in the capital. While, in the last year, the number of recorded fires had gone down to a daily average of 54. Last year also, recorded fires in London dipped below the 12 month period mark of 20,000. This had never happened before since 1966, which was the year records began.

Commissioner Ron Dobson hailed the “fantastic achievement” in getting fire-related deaths and recorded fires to fall sharply.

Mr. Dobson said that “a vigilant population” is what really prevents fires from happening, and that people being properly educated regarding fire safety had been of major importance in achieving these positive figures. Mr. Dobson also said that credit should go to those who had been involved in the educative process, including the likes of firefighters, fire engineers and investigators, and community safety experts.

Some 87,000 homes in London were visited last year for the purposes of fire safety.

There was no room for complacency Mr. Dobson added, and, he said, every death due to a fire “is a tragedy”. Some 87,000 homes in London were visited last year for the purposes of fire safety.

A major reason for the falling number of fires, the Brigade says, is that those who are most at risk were increasingly being targeted. To underline this, there was an increase of 3,000 home fire safety visits in 2014/15 compared to the previous year. While a very high percentage of the near 87,000 visits were to London’s most vulnerable.

An earlier report by the Brigade found that an estimated 5,000 fires had been prevented, thanks to visits by firefighters concerning aspects of fire safety. The vulnerable particularly benefited from these visits, and to the extent that they were 18 times less likely to experience a fire than if they hadn’t been visited.

In the last five years, the number of serious injuries caused by fire had fallen by 29% to 593. Calls to the Brigade had decreased by 21% during the five years, with 171,682 calls recorded. Incidents had fallen by 22%, and the total figure came to 95,712.

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