National statistics

Detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services, England, April 2022 to March 2023

Published 21 September 2023

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/detailed-analysis-of-fires-attended-by-fire-and-rescue-services-england-april-2022-to-march-2023/detailed-analysis-of-fires-attended-by-fire-and-rescue-services-england-april-2022-to-march-2023

Frequency of release: Annual

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

Press enquiries: pressoffice@homeoffice.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: firestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk

This release presents detailed statistics on fire incidents which occurred in the year ending March 2023 (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023) for fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England. For summary statistics and trends please refer to Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending March 2023.

As the Incident Recording System (IRS) is a continually updated database, the statistics published in this release may not match those held locally by FRSs and revisions may occur in the future (see the revisions section for further detail). This may be particularly relevant for fire-related fatalities where a coroner’s report could lead to revisions in the data some time after the incident. It should also be noted that the numbers of fire-related fatalities are prone to year-on-year fluctuations due to relatively low numbers. The year ending March 2018 had a particularly high number of fire-related fatalities due to the Grenfell Tower fire.

Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • there were 178,737 fires attended by FRSs in England, a 17% increase compared with the year ending March 2022 (152,639)
  • there were 116,690 outdoor fires attended by FRSs in England, a 27% increase compared with the previous year, a 24% increase compared with 5 years ago and a 51% increase compared with 10 years ago
  • there were 259 fire-related fatalities, a 5.1% decrease compared with the previous year (273), a 23% decrease compared with 5 years ago[footnote 1], a 9.4% decrease compared with 10 years ago
  • someone is 10 times more likely to die in a fire if there is no working smoke alarm in their home[footnote 2]
  • cooking appliances were responsible for 44% of accidental dwelling fires, but only 9.7% of fire-related fatalities
  • smoking materials showed the reverse pattern and accounted for only 8.2% of accidental dwelling fires, but resulted in over a third (35%) of fire-related fatalities

1. Overview of fires attended

1.1 Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • of the total 622,173 incidents attended by FRSs fires accounted for 29%, compared with 26% in the previous year, 30% 5 years ago and 30% 10 years ago; Source: FIRE0102
  • there were 178,737 fires, this was a 17% increase compared with the previous year (152,639), a 6.8% increase compared with 5 years ago (167,357) and a 16% increase compared with 10 years ago (154,463)
  • the month with the most fires attended by FRSs per day was August (an average of 909), an increase of 135% compared to August in year ending March 2022 (an average of 387)
  • there were 116,690 outdoor fires, this was a 27% increase compared with the previous year (91,525), a 24% increase compared with 5 years ago (94,422) and a 51% increase compared with 10 years ago (77,083)

Fire incidents are broadly categorised as primary, secondary or chimney fires, depending on the location, severity and risk levels of the fire, and on the scale of response needed from FRSs to contain them.

Types of fire as recorded in the Incident Recording System (IRS)

Primary fires Potentially more serious fires that cause harm to people or damage to property. To be categorised as primary these fires must either:

  • occur in a (non-derelict) building, vehicle or outdoor structure
  • involve fatalities, non-fatal casualties or rescues
  • be attended by 5 or more pumping appliances

Secondary fires Generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property.

Chimney fires Fires in buildings where the flame was contained within the chimney structure and did not meet any of the criteria for primary fires.

The IRS also captures the motive for a fire, which is recorded as either accidental, deliberate or unknown. Those recorded as unknown are included in the accidental category for the purposes of this report.

Accidental fires Includes those where the motive for the fire was presumed to be either accidental or not known (or unspecified).

Deliberate fires Includes those where the motive for the fire was ‘thought to be’ or ‘suspected to be’ deliberate. Despite deliberate fire records including arson, deliberate fires are not the same as arson. Arson is a specific subset of Deliberate Fires, and is defined under the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 as ‘an act of attempting to destroy or damage property, and/or in doing so, to endanger life’.

The total number of fires attended by FRSs decreased for around a decade - falling by around two-thirds from a peak of around 474,000 in the year to March 2004 to around 154,000 in the year ending March 2013. Subsequently, the number has fluctuated annually between 150,000 and 185,000, with the peak in the year ending March 2019, due to the hot, dry summer of 2018.

Although the year to March 2021 had the lowest figure recorded since comparable statistics became available in the year to March 1996, this was likely because of the impact of restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (see Figure 1.1 below).

Table 1: Number of fires, comparing the year ending March 2023 with 1, 5 and 10 years previously

Incident type 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Fires 178,737 152,639 +17% 167,357 +7% 154,463 +16%
Primary fires 66,753 63,501 +5% 74,273 -10% 74,714 -11%
Dwelling fires 26,822 27,171 -1% 30,821 -13% 33,300 -19%
Accidental dwelling fires 24,083 24,481 -2% 27,593 -13% 29,673 -19%
Primary outdoor fires 7,246 4,998 +45% 5,379 +35% 4,587 +58%
Secondary fires 109,444 86,527 +26% 89,043 +23% 72,496 +51%

Source: Home Office, FIRE0102, FIRE0202

Figure 1.1: Fires attended by type of fire, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0102

1.3 Seasonal fire analyses

Very little seasonality was evident in dwelling fires, but other buildings and road vehicle fires showed a small increase in the summer months. Primary outdoor, secondary and chimney fires showed much stronger seasonal effects. There tends to be more grassland, refuse and other outdoor fires in the summer months and these seem to reflect weather patterns (see FIRE0802). Conversely, chimney fires are more numerous in the winter months. These seasonal effects are broadly similar each year but are affected by changes in weather patterns specific to that year, for example, in the year ending March 2023 the number of fires peaked in August 2022 (see section on outdoor fires), while in the previous year they were highest in April.

The daily rate of all fires for the year ending March 2023 was 490 fires per day, of which 320 per day (65%) were outdoor fires.

Figure 1.2 shows the average daily number of different types of fires in the year ending March 2023. It shows how stable the number of dwelling, other building and road vehicle fires are across months, compared with seasonal outdoor fires and, to a lesser extent, chimney fires.

Figure 1.2: Average daily fire incidents by month and location, England; the year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0802

2. Outdoor fires

Outdoor fires are classified as other outdoor fires or secondary fires.

Other outdoor fires Fires in either primary outdoor locations (that is, aircraft, boats, trains and outdoor structures such as post or telephone boxes, bridges and tunnels), or fires in non-primary outdoor locations that have casualties or 5 or more pumping appliances attending.

Secondary fires Generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property. These include refuse fires, grassland fires and fires in derelict buildings or vehicles, unless these fires involved casualties or rescues, or 5 or more pumping appliances attended, in which case they become primary fires.

Figure 2.1: Outdoor fires attended, England; year ending March 2018 to year ending March 2023

The large increases in total fires in the year ending March 2023 were heavily influenced by the increase in outdoor fires. The number of outdoor fires attended in the quarter July to September 2022 (52,281) was the highest quarterly figure, since the IRS was introduced in April 2009.

The figures for both the months of July and August appear to be exceptional compared to previous year’s figures with:

  • 21,246 outdoor fires in July 2022, nearly trebling the previous year’s figure (7,250)
  • 22,547 outdoor fires in August 2022, an increase of more than threefold when compared with the previous year (7,156)

(Source: FIRE0802)

The exceptional increase in both categories can be linked to the hot, dry summer of 2022, the joint hottest summer on record equalling that of summer 2018. The increase was largely driven by the 44,150 grassland, woodland and crop fires in the year ending March 2023, an increase of 72% compared to the previous year (25,620). The quarter July to September accounted for 26,323 (60%) of the 44,150 fires, which was the highest quarterly figure since the IRS was introduced and a 20% increase compared to the previous highest quarterly number in the year ending March 2019 (21,859).

The summer of 2022 saw record breaking temperatures, with 40.3°C recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 19 July. Dry and warm weather drove heatwaves to develop each month. A UK heatwave threshold is met when a location records a period of at least 3 consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold[footnote 3]. Outdoor fires generally display seasonality, with more occurring during the hotter and drier months. The timing of peaks in outdoor fires varies by year, reflecting the weather conditions at the time.

FRSs in the south and east of England, generally, showed greater percentage increases in the number of outdoor fires compared to the same quarter in the previous year which is visualised in the map in Figure 2.2 and Table 2.1.

Figure 2.2: Percentage change in number of outdoor primary fires and secondary fires attended by FRSs in quarter Jul-Sep 2022 compared to Jul-Sep 2021

Table 2.1: Number of outdoor primary fires and secondary fires attended by region; 2022/23 July, August and September and 2021/22 July, August and September

Region 2022/23 Jul, Aug, Sep 2021/22 Jul, Aug, Sep change
Yorkshire and the Humber 8,108 3,544 +129%
North West 6,667 4,363 +53%
North East 6,542 3,200 +104%
South East 6,609 2,296 +188%
East 6,079 1,914 +218%
West Midlands 5,515 2,440 +126%
London 4,803 1,763 +172%
East Midlands 4,243 1,660 +156%
South West 3,715 1,556 +139%

2.1 Causes of outdoor fires

Of the 7,246 primary outdoor fires, the most common source of ignition category was ‘Other/Unspecified’, accounting for 74% of these fires in the year ending March 2023. The largest specified category was matches, accounting for 6.2% of primary outdoor fires (Source: FIRE0602).

The most common cause of fire category was ‘Other accidental’, accounting for 62% of all primary outdoor fires. Of the specified causes, ‘Careless handling of fire or hot substances’ and ‘placing articles too close to heat’ were the most common, each accounting for 10% of these fires (Source: FIRE0601).

Table 2.2 Accidental primary outdoor fires by cause of fire, comparing the year ending March 2023, with 1, 5 and 10 years previously

Cause of fire 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Faulty fuel supplies 337 294 +15% 286 +18% 262 +29%
Faulty appliances and leads 210 221 -5.0% 217 -3.2% 288 -27%
Misuse of equipment or appliances 153 126 +21% 120 +28% 92 +66%
Chip/fat pan fires 0 3 -100% 0 -0% 1 -100%
Playing with fire 83 53 +57% 60 +38% 45 +84%
Careless handling of fire or hot substances 445 306 +45% 323 +38% 263 +69%
Placing articles too close to heat 439 303 +45% 294 +49% 190 +131%

Fatal fires Those that result in at least 1 fatality that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire.

Fire-related fatalities Those that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire. For the purpose of publications, a ‘fire-related’ fatality includes those that were recorded as ‘don’t know’.

Non-fatal casualties Those resulting from a fire, whether the injury was caused by the fire or not.

A rescue Where a person has received physical assistance to get clear of the area involved in the incident.

An evacuation The direction of people from a dangerous place to somewhere safe.

3.1 Key results

The key results of fire-related fatalities, non-fatal casualties, rescues and evacuations have been summarised in Table 3.1.

Incident type 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Fatal fires 246 254 -3.1% 246 0% 269 -8.6%
Fire-related fatalities 259 273 -5.1% 338 -23% 286 -9.4%
Non-fatal casualties 6,155 6,313 -2.5% 7,303 -16% 8,429 -27%
Rescues 2,761 2,795 -1.2% 3,125 -12% 3,466 -20%
Evacuations 4,342 4,364 -0.5% 6,246 -30% 7,334 -41%

In the year ending March 2023, there were 259 fire-related fatalities (4.7 for every million people in England) and 246 fatal fires, accounting for 0.1% of all fires and 0.4% of primary fires. This compared with the previous year, when there were 273 fire-related fatalities (5.0 for every million people in England) and 254 fatal fires, accounting for 0.2% of all fires and 0.4% of primary fires.

In the year ending March 2023 there were:

  • 203 dwelling fire-related fatalities (78% of all fire-related fatalities), a 2.9% decrease compared to the previous year (209)
  • 42 dwelling fire-related fatalities in purpose-built flats or maisonettes in the year ending March 2023 (21% of all dwelling fire-related fatalities), a 14% decrease compared to the previous year (30)
  • 15 other building fire-related fatalities (5.8% of all fire-related fatalities), a 36% increase compared to the previous year (11)
  • 22 road vehicle fire-related fatalities (8.5% of all fire-related fatalities), a 37% decrease compared to the previous year (35)
  • 19 other outdoor fire-related fatalities (7.3% of all fire-related fatalities), 1 more than the previous year

In the year ending March 2023 there were 6,155 non-fatal casualties in all fires, of which 2,599 (42%) required hospital treatment. When considered by type of fire, the trends were:

  • 4,522 non-fatal casualties in dwelling fires (73% of all casualties), a 5.2% reduction on the previous year (4,768)
  • 808 non-fatal casualties in other building fires (13% of all casualties), a 7.9% increase on the previous year (749)
  • 460 non-fatal casualties in road vehicle fires (7.5% of all casualties), a 6.3% decrease on the previous year (491)
  • 365 non-fatal casualties in other outdoor fires (5.9% of all casualties), a 20% increase on the previous year (305)

The proportion of non-fatal dwelling fire casualties in purpose-built flats or maisonettes has been relatively stable for the past decade, varying between 25% and 28%.

The likelihood of dying in a fire generally increases with age. In the year ending March 2023, 47% of all fire-related fatalities in England were in people aged 65 years and over, this was a similar proportion to the previous year (49%).

When broken down by age groups the fatality rate was:

  • 9.9 fatalities per million people for those aged 65 to 79 years old
  • 16.4 fatalities per million people for those aged 80 years and over (Figure 3.2 below)
  • below 4.0 fatalities per million people for each of the age bands 54 years and under

In the year ending March 2023, 39% of all fire-related non-fatal casualties in England were in people aged between 25 and 54, this was a similar proportion to the previous year (41%). However the non-fatal casualty rate was highest in those aged 80 years and over (183 casualties per million people).

Men have a greater likelihood of dying and getting injured in a fire than women. In the year ending March 2023, there were 162 male fire-related fatalities and 3,621 male non-fatal casualties, compared to 90 and 2,426 for females. The overall fatality rate for males in the year ending March 2023 was 5.9 per million, while the rate for females was 3.3 per million. Although the overall number of fire-related fatalities is relatively low, and so prone to fluctuation, these general patterns have been consistent since data became available in the year ending March 2010. The overall casualty rate for males was 131 million, while the rate for females was 89 million.

Figure 3.2: Fatality rate (fatalities per million people) for all ages and selected age bands, England; the year ending March 2010 to the year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0503a

3.4 Causes of deaths and injuries

The IRS records the cause of death or nature of injury for fire-related fatalities and non-fatal casualties in fires. In the year ending March 2023, where known, the most common cause of death for fire-related fatalities was ‘Burns’ (recorded for 31% (79) of fire-related fatalities). The number of fire-related fatalities by ‘Overcome by gas or smoke’ decreased to 77 (30% of fire-related fatalities), and was the lowest since the introduction of the online IRS.

The proportions for causes of death in fire-related fatalities are fairly stable across most years. The exception for this was for the year ending March 2018, where the ‘unspecified’ category was higher (26% compared with a usual range of between 10-20%) due to the Grenfell Tower fire. Currently, the public inquiry into the fire is still ongoing (due to be published in 2024), so the fire-related fatalities are recorded as ‘unspecified’ (Source: FIRE0504).

There were 4,019 non-fatal casualties in accidental dwelling fires in the year ending March 2023. Of casualties that required hospital treatment[footnote 4] (1,646), the largest category of injury was ‘overcome by gas or smoke’ (758; 46%), followed by ‘Burns’ (355; 22%) and ‘other breathing difficulties’ (257; 16%). All the other categories combined comprised the remaining 17% of injuries requiring hospital treatment (Source: FIRE0506).

3.5 Rescues and evacuations

The IRS records the exact number of people rescued from primary fires attended by FRSs. The number of people rescued from primary fires attended by FRSs has generally been on a downward trend since the online IRS was introduced, decreasing from 4,367 in the year ending March 2010 to 2,761 in the year ending March 2023 (Figure 3.3). Over three-quarters (78%) of rescues were from primary dwelling fires, with other building, road vehicle and other outdoor fires accounting for 15%, 4.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

Figure 3.3: Number of people rescued from primary fires, England; the year ending March 2010 to the year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0511

For evacuations from fires attended by FRSs, the IRS records how many people were assisted in 8 separate bands (for example, 6 to 20 means there were between 6 and 20 people evacuated from a fire). The number of primary fires attended that involved an evacuation has also generally been on a downward trend (Figure 3.4 below), decreasing from 9,263 in the year ending March 2010 to 4,342 in the year ending March 2023. The decrease occurred in all evacuation types.

The most common evacuation band was ‘1 to 5’ (that is, there were 1 to 5 people evacuated from the fire), accounting for 87% of primary fires that involved an evacuation. Other building fires accounted for the largest proportion of incidents with an evacuation at 48%, while dwelling fires accounted for 37%, road vehicles 12% and other outdoor fires 2.8% (Source: FIRE0511).

Figure 3.4: Number of primary fires with an evacuation, England; the year ending March 2010 to the year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0511

4. Extent of damage and spread of fire

The IRS also records the extent of damage and the spread of fire. The extent of damage (due to smoke, and/or heat, and/or water) to dwellings and other buildings is recorded by the area in square metres broken down into 13 categories, from ‘none’ up to ‘over 10,000’ square metres[footnote 5]. Dwelling fires with more than 5,000m2 of damage and other buildings fires with more than 1,000m2 of damage can skew the averages, so were removed for the averages reported here[footnote 6]. However, for completeness, other calculations are available in tables FIRE0204 and FIRE0305, which accompany this release. The spread of fire in dwellings and other buildings is recorded according to the extent the fire reached different parts of the building, based on 8 categories from ‘no fire damage’ to ‘fire spread to the whole building’.

4.1 Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • the average area of damage to dwellings (excluding those over 5,000m2) was 15.2m2, an increase of 7.0% compared with the previous year (14.2m2), a decrease of 6.2% from 5 years ago (16.2m2) and a 22% decrease from 10 years ago (19.4m2)
  • the average area of damage to other buildings (excluding those over 1,000m2) increased by 8.3% to 26.2m2 compared with 24.2m2 in the year ending March 2022, a decrease of 4.4% from 5 years ago (27.4m2) and a decrease of 14% from 10 years ago (30.6m2)
  • 29% of dwelling fires had no fire damage, in 32% the damage was limited to the item first ignited, in 24% the damage was limited to the room of origin and 15% were larger fires[footnote 7]
  • 21% of other building fires had no fire damage, in 28% the damage was limited to the item first ignited, in 20% the damage was limited to the room of origin and 31% were larger fires

4.2 Extent of damage

The average extent of damage to dwellings has generally fallen since the year ending March 2004. But in the latest year the average area of damage to dwellings (excluding those over 5,000m2) in England increased by 7.0% compared with the previous year (Source: FIRE0204).

The average extent of damage to other buildings (excluding those over 1,000m2) has fluctuated since the year ending March 2010 (from when the average extent of damage to other buildings started being more accurately recorded)[footnote 8], although the figure recorded in the 2 most recent years were the lowest figures over this period (26.2m2 and 24.2m2 respectively) (Source: FIRE0305).

4.3 Spread of fire

In the year ending March 2023, nearly one-third (29%) of dwelling fires had no fire damage, in around one-third (32%) the damage was limited to the item first ignited and in roughly one-quarter (24%) the damage was limited to the room of origin. The remaining 15% of dwelling fires were larger fires[footnote 7] (Source: FIRE0203).

For dwelling fires, the proportion that spread beyond the room of origin varied by property type as follows[footnote 9]:

  • 6.8% in purpose-built high-rise (10 or more storeys) flats or maisonettes
  • 8.7% in purpose-built medium-rise (4 to 9 storeys) flats or maisonettes
  • 9.1% in purpose-built low-rise (1 to 3 storeys) flats or maisonettes
  • 14% in houses, bungalows, converted flats and other dwellings combined

In the year ending March 2023, 21% of other building fires had no fire damage, for 28% the damage was limited to the item first ignited and for 20% the damage was limited to the room of origin. The remaining 31% of other building fires were larger fires[footnote 7] (Source: FIRE0304).

The IRS collects information on the source of ignition (for example, ‘smokers’ materials’), the cause of fire (for example, ‘fault in equipment or appliance’), the item or material that was mainly responsible for the spread of the fire (for example, ‘clothing or textiles’), and ignition power (for example, gas)[footnote 10].

5.1 Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • of the 24,083 accidental dwelling fires[footnote 11] , 29% were caused by ‘misuse of equipment or appliances’, compared to 31% in the year ending March 2022
  • cooking appliances were the largest ignition category for accidental dwelling fires, accounting for 44% of these fires, but only 9.7% of the fire-related fatalities
  • smoking materials were the source of ignition in 8.2% of accidental dwelling fires, but accounted for the largest proportion of fire-related fatalities in accidental dwelling fires at 35%

5.2 Sources of ignition in accidental dwelling fires and other building fires

Since the year ending March 2011 (when the data was first recorded), the number of accidental dwelling fires has decreased by 24%. While the number of accidental dwelling fires with a source of ignition of ‘cooking appliances’ have reduced by 33% since year ending March 2011, it still accounts for 44% of all accidental dwelling fires. The decrease in accidental dwelling fires has also been driven by reductions in the number of fires with an ignition source of ‘space heating appliance’ (-43%) and ‘other electrical appliance’ (-35%) (Source: FIRE0602).

Figure 5.1 shows the proportion of accidental dwelling fires, and their resulting non-fatal casualties and fire-related fatalities, attributable to different sources of ignition[footnote 12]. While cooking appliances account for the largest proportion of ignition source for accidental dwelling fires and casualties, smokers materials accounts for the largest source of ignition for fire-related fatalities (Source: FIRE0601 to FIRE0605).

Source: Home Office, FIRE0602

The source of ignition that accounted for the largest proportion of other building fires (excluding ‘other/unspecified’) was electrical distribution (15%). While the largest specified ignition source for fatalities was smokers’ materials (27%) and for casualties was cooking appliances (15%).

5.3 Main cause of, and material mainly responsible for, dwelling fires

Exactly how a fire originated, and the material that was mainly responsible for it spreading, are both important determinants in the outcomes of fires. Similarly to sources of ignition, the most common causes and materials responsible for the spread of fires are not those that lead to the greatest proportion of fire-related fatalities.

Of the 24,083 dwelling fires with accidental causes in the year ending March 2023, 29% were caused by ‘misuse of equipment or appliance’ (Figure 5.2), compared to 31% in the previous year. The second largest cause category was ‘placing articles too close to heat’, which caused 15% of all accidental dwelling fires (Source: FIRE0605).

In the year ending March 2023, ‘textiles, upholstery and furnishings’ was the material mainly responsible for the spread of primary dwelling fires in 23% of cases, but 60% of associated fire-related fatalities (Source: FIRE0604); it was the item first ignited in 27% of primary dwelling fires (Source: FIRE0603).

‘Food’ was the material mainly responsible for the spread of the fire in 15% of all dwelling fires and the item first ignited in 23% of all dwelling fires in the year ending March 2023. However, it was the material mainly responsible for the spread of the fire in only 3.0% of all fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires.

Figure 5.2: Percentage of fires in accidental dwelling fires by cause of fire, England; year ending March 2023

Source: Home Office, FIRE0601

6. Temporal fire analyses

6.1 Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • the number of fires by hour showed a strong daily pattern, with almost half (49%) of all fires occurring where the time of call was between 4pm and 10pm
  • the number of fire-related fatalities by hour did not show as strong a daily pattern, though the highest number of fire-related fatalities were during the night

6.2 Temporal fire analyses

For each of the 6 individual hours between 4pm and 10pm (by time of call), the highest proportion of fires occurred, which was also consistent with all previous years. The peak hours were between 6pm and 10pm with each hour accounting for 9.0% of fires in the year ending March 2023, similar to previous years (Source: FIRE0801).

Source: Home Office, FIRE0801

The number of fire-related fatalities per fire by hour showed less of a pattern across the day, but did show peaks during the night. The highest rate was between 3am and 5am with each hour accounting for 6.6% of fires.

7. Smoke alarm function

7.1 Key results

In the year ending March 2023:

  • fires where a smoke alarm was not present accounted for 25% (6,706) of all dwelling fires and 28% (56) of all dwelling fire-related fatalities
  • mains powered smoke alarms continued to have a lower ‘failure rate’ than battery powered smoke alarms

7.2 Smoke alarms in dwelling fires

The IRS records information on whether a smoke alarm was present at the fire incident, as well as the type of alarm (mains or battery powered) and whether or not it functioned as intended (that is, if it operated and if it raised the alarm).

Reasons alarms did not function as expected

Did not operate:

  • alarm battery missing
  • alarm battery defective
  • system not set up correctly
  • system damaged by fire
  • fire not close enough to detector
  • fault in system
  • system turned off
  • fire in area not covered by system
  • detector removed
  • alerted by other means
  • other
  • not known

Operated but did not raise the alarm:

  • no person in earshot
  • occupants did not respond
  • no other person responded
  • other
  • not known

Fires where a smoke alarm was present but either did not operate or did not raise the alarm accounted for just under one-third (30%) of all dwelling fires in the year ending March 2023, similar to previous years.

In the year ending March 2023, ‘fire products did not reach detector(s)’[footnote 13] and ‘fire in area not covered by system’ accounted for 65% of smoke alarm failures in dwelling fires where the smoke alarm was mains powered and 59% where the alarms were battery operated. Table 6.1 (below) provides a summary of the reasons smoke alarms did not operate in dwelling fires in year ending March 2023.

As for all years since the year ending March 2011, the most common category of smoke alarm failure in dwelling fires involving any casualties was ‘other’ (including ‘alerted by other means’, ‘system damaged by fire’, ‘other’ and ‘don’t know’) (Source: FIRE0704).

Table 7.1: Reason smoke alarms did not operate in dwelling fires and dwelling fires resulting in casualties, by type of alarm, England, year ending March 2023

Reason for failure Battery powered - fires Battery powered - fire resulting in casualties Mains powered - fires Mains powered - fire resulting in casualties
Missing battery 7.4% 13% 0.5% 0.0%
Defective battery 9.0% 11% 0.4% 2.8%
Other act preventing alarm from operating 1.9% 11% 6.0% 22%
Fire products did not reach detector(s) 43% 11% 48% 8.3%
Fire in area not covered by system 16% 11% 17% 8.3%
Faulty system / incorrectly installed 2.5% 11% 3.9% 14%
Other 20% 34% 24% 44%

Source: Home Office, FIRE0704

Notes:

  1. Includes all non-fatal casualties and fire-related fatalities.
  2. Mains powered smoke alarms includes those recorded as ‘mains and battery’ in the IRS, therefore there are a small number of mains powered smoke alarms where the reason for failure is ‘missing battery’ or ‘defective battery’.
  3. Other includes ‘alerted by other means’, ‘system damaged by fire’, ‘other” and ‘don’t know’.

7.3 Smoke alarm function and outcomes

Figure 7.1 below shows the proportion of dwelling fires and fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires where the alarm was ‘present, operated and raised the alarm’, ‘present but did not raise the alarm’, ‘present but did not operate’ or ‘absent’. It shows that a smoke alarm was present and raised the alarm (that is, functioned as intended) in 46% of dwelling fires and 39% of fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2023.

In the year ending March 2022, according to the English Housing Survey 93% of households had a working smoke alarm. Based on IRS and English Housing Survey data, you are around 10 times more likely to die in a fire if you do not have a working smoke alarm in your home (Source: FIRE0701, FIRE0702).

Alarms were absent in a higher proportion for fire-related fatalities (28%) than for non-fatal casualties (21%) and in dwelling fires (25%) in the year ending March 2023. This pattern is consistent with previous years.

Source: Home Office, FIRE0702

7.4 Smoke alarms in other building fires

Fires where a smoke alarm was not present accounted for 49% of all other building fires in the year ending March 2023. This has been relatively stable since the year ending March 2013; with the percentage fluctuating between 45% and 48% with the exception of the year ending March 2021, which saw the highest figure (55%) since comparable data became available, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the year ending March 2023, fires where a smoke alarm was present but did not raise the alarm accounted for 5.2% of other building fires, and fires where an alarm was present but did not operate accounted for 10%. These proportions have been relatively stable since comparable data became available in the year to March 2011.

Fires where a smoke alarm was not present accounted for 40% of all other building fire-related fatalities and non-fatal casualties (combined) in the year ending March 2023, similar to the previous year, but the highest since year ending March 2012, with the exception of year ending March 2021. However, it should be noted that due to the relatively small numbers involved, this figure is prone to fluctuation. The figure for the year ending March 2021 (49%) was the highest since comparable data became available in the year ending March 2011 (Source: FIRE0706).

8. Summary of changes over time

Fatalities and non- fatal casualties 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Fire-related fatalities 259 273 -5.1% 338 -23% 286 -9.4%
Fire-related fatalities in dwellings 203 209 -2.9% 263 -23% 211 -3.8%
Non-fatal casualties 6,155 6,313 -2.5% 7,303 -16% 8,429 -27%
Non-fatal casualties requiring hospital treatment 2,599 2,586 +0.5% 3,297 -21% 3,811 -32%
Non-fatal casualties in dwellings 4,522 4,768 -5.2% 5,459 -17% 6,740 -33%

Source: Home Office, FIRE0506

Table 8.2 Area of fire damage, comparing the year ending March 2023 with 1, 5 and 10 years previously

Area of fire damage 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Dwellings excluding 10,000m2 15.5m2 15.1m2 -2.6% 17.0m2 -8.8% 20.1m2 -23%
Dwellings excluding 5,000m2 15.2m2 14.2m2 +7.0% 16.2m2 -6.2% 19.4m2 -22%
Other buildings excluding 2,000m2 35.2m2 32.1m2 +9.7% 34.8m2 +1.1% 40.5m2 -13%
Other buildings excluding 1,000m2 26.2m2 24.2m2 +8.3% 27.4m2 -4.4% 30.6m2 -14%

Source: Home Office, FIRE0204, FIRE0305

Table 8.3 Accidental primary fires in dwellings by cause of fire, comparing the year ending March 2023 with 1,5, and 10 years previously

Cause of fire 2022/23 2021/22 change 2017/18 change 2012/13 change
Faulty fuel supplies 2,325 2,366 -1.7% 2,530 -8.1% 2,471 -5.9%
Faulty appliances and leads 3,486 3,700 -5.8% 4,352 -20% 4,942 -29%
Misuse of equipment or appliances 7,051 7,509 -6.1% 9,406 -25% 10,919 -35%
Chip/fat pan fires 1,182 1,370 -14% 1,612 -27% 1,948 -39%
Playing with fire 211 160 +32% 188 +12% 283 -25%
Careless handling of fire or hot substances 2,809 2,615 +7.4% 2,645 +6.2% 2,682 +4.7%
Placing articles too close to heat 3,506 3,490 +0.5% 3,615 -3.0% 3,372 +4.0%

Source: Home Office, FIRE0601

9. Further information

This release contains statistics about incidents attended by fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England. The statistics are sourced from the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS). This system allows FRSs to complete an incident form for every incident attended, be it a fire, a false alarm or a non-fire incident (also known as a Special Service incident).

Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics and other Home Office statistical releases are available via the Statistics at Home Office pages on the GOV.UK website.

Data tables linked to this release and all other fire statistics releases can be found on the Home Office’s Fire statistics data tables page.

Guidance for using these statistics and other fire statistics outputs, including a Quality Report, is available on the fire statistics guidance page.

The information published in this release is kept under review, taking into account the needs of users and burdens on suppliers and producers, in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Office for Statistics Regulation recently carried out a compliance check of the Home Office’s fire and rescue incident statistics against the Code of Practice and the results can be found in a letter to the Home Office’s Head of Profession published on the OSR website.

If you have any comments, suggestions or enquiries, please contact the team via email using firestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk.

9.1 Revisions

The IRS is a continually updated database, with FRSs adding incidents daily. The figures in this release refer to records of incidents that occurred up to and including the end of March 2023. This includes incident records that were submitted to the IRS by 23 May 2023, when a snapshot of the database was taken for the purpose of analysis. As a snapshot of the dataset was taken on 23 May 2023, the statistics published may not match those held locally by FRSs and revisions may occur in the future. This is particularly the case for statistics with relatively small numbers, such as fire-related fatalities. For instance, this can occur because coroner’s reports may mean the initial view taken by the FRS will need to be revised; this can take many months, even years, to do so.

9.2 COVID-19 and the impact on the IRS

The figures presented in this release relate to incidents attended by FRSs during year ending March 2023. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales started from 12 March 2020. In England, 3 lockdowns which applied strict limits on daily life were imposed. A first lockdown was applied on 23 March 2020 and was eased from 15 June 2020, a second lockdown began on 5 November 2020 and ended on 2 December 2020 and the third began on 4 January 2021 and ended on 12 April 2021. The restrictions and lockdowns are therefore captured in IRS data and affect the years ending March 2021 and March 2022.

Extra analyses on fire and rescue incidents during this period can be found in the year to March 2021 edition of this release, detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services, England, April 2020 to March 2021 and detailed analysis of non-fire incidents: England, April 2020 to March 2021.

9.3 COVID-19 and the impact on incidents attended

The increase in incidents attended this year compared with the previous year was driven by increases in all 3 main incident types (fires, non-fire incidents and fire false alarms), as restrictions to life due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the previous year may have reduced the number of certain incident types and this should be borne in mind when considering year on year comparisons.

Home Office publish 5 other statistical releases covering fire and rescue services.

These include:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also publish statistical releases on fire including the English housing survey which focuses on the extent to which the existence of fire and fire safety features vary by household and dwelling type.

Fire statistics are published by the other UK nations:

Scottish fire statistics and Welsh fire statistics are published based on the IRS. Fire statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service using data from a system similar to the Incident Recording System, which means that they are not directly comparable to English, Welsh and Scottish data.

9.5 National Statistics

These statistics have been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure that they continue to meet the standards required to be designated as National Statistics. This statistical bulletin is produced to the highest professional standards and is free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in accordance with the Home Office’s Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which covers Home Office policy on revisions and other matters. The Chief Statistician, as Head of Profession, reports to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office National Statistics products with respect to the Code, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology. This means that these statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, impartiality, quality and public value, and are fully compliant with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

  1. The year ending March 2018 had a particularly high number of fire-related fatalities due to the Grenfell Tower fire. ↩

  2. For details of the calculation and assumptions made, see the definitions. ↩

  3. For the Met office definition of a UK heatwave see What is a heatwave? - Met Office ↩

  4. Casualties requiring hospital treatment covers all injury categories listed in FIRE0506 with the exception of ‘first aid given’ or ‘precautionary checks’ ↩

  5. For a list of the damaged area size bands, see the Fire Statistics Definitions document. ↩

  6. Excluding these area categories removed 4 dwelling fires (approximately 0.01% of all dwelling fires) and 146 other buildings fires (approximately 1.1% of all other building fires) for the year ending March 2023 ↩

  7. Larger fires comprises the following IRS categories: ‘limited to floor of origin’, ‘limited to 2 floors’, ‘affecting more than 2 floors’, ‘limited to roofs and spaces’ or the ‘whole building’. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. For detail on the discontinuity between the financial year 2008 to 2009 and the financial year 2009 to 2010 please see page 17 in the financial year 2011 to 2012 incidents response times report. ↩

  9. Fire spread beyond the room of origin comprises the following IRS categories: where the spread of fire was limited to the floor of origin, where the spread of fire was limited to 2 floors, where the spread of fire was affecting more than 2 floors and where the fire spread to the whole building. ↩

  10. For a more detailed definition on the different types of cause of fire, see the definitions document and IRS Guidance. ↩

  11. As defined by cause of fire; Source: FIRE0601. ↩

  12. This excludes ‘other/unspecified’. ↩

  13. ‘Fire products did not reach detectors(s)’ can be where the smoke alarms present were poorly sited (for example, not on the floor of origin) so the smoke did not reach the detector. ↩

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