National statistics

Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending March 2022

Published 11 August 2022

Applies to England

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Frequency of release: Quarterly

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

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Public enquiries: firestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk

This release contains statistics about incidents attended by fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England for the year ending March 2022. The statistics are sourced from the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS) and include statistics on all incidents, fire-related fatalities, casualties from fires and response times to fires, with long term comparisons.

Key results

FRSs attended 577,053 incidents in the year ending March 2022, an 11 per cent increase compared with the previous year (518,270). Of these incidents, there were 152,608 fires which was a one per cent increase compared with the previous year (151,095).

The increase in incidents attended this year compared with the previous year was driven by increases in all three main incident types (fires, non-fire incidents and fire false alarms), as restrictions to life due to the coronovirus (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.

There were 272 fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2022 compared with 237 in the previous year. The 272 fire-related fatalities included 99 fire-related fatalities from the final three months of 2021, which was the highest quarterly figure recorded since April, May and June in 2017 (the quarter the Grenfell Tower fire occurred in) and prior to that the largest since October, November and December in 2008 - the quarterly figure for January to March 2022 is more in line with recent quarterly data, whereas at this stage the quarterly figure for October to December 2021 appears to be an outlier.

1. Incident summary

Incidents that FRSs attend are categorised into three main types - fires attended, non-fire incidents and fire false alarms.

Key results

In the year ending March 2022:

  • 577,053 incidents were attended by FRSs, this was an 11 per cent increase compared with the previous year (518,270), a three per cent increase compared with five years ago (560,694) and a five per cent decrease compared with ten years ago (606,941) Source: FIRE0102

  • of all incidents attended by FRSs, fires accounted for 26 per cent, fire false alarms 40 per cent and non-fire incidents 34 per cent, compared with fires accounting for 37 per cent, fire false alarms 41 per cent and non-fire incidents 22 per cent ten years ago Source: FIRE0102

Total incidents

The total number of incidents attended by FRSs in England peaked in the year to March 2004, at over one million incidents. For around a decade, there was a general decline in all three categories of incidents attended and by the year ending March 2015 there were fewer than half a million incidents. The number of incidents then rose to around 577,000 in the year to March 2019 (the largest total since the year to March 2012) but has fluctuated since. It was 577,053 in the year ending March 2022.

In contrast to the earlier decreases (caused by a reduction in fire and fire false alarm incidents), the increase in total incidents over the four years to March 2019 was driven by increases in fire and non-fire incidents. Furthermore, the increase in non-fire incidents over this time was mainly due to changes in the number of flooding incidents and collaboration incidents attended, which are discussed in Section 4.

Figure 1.1: Total incidents attended by incident type, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0102

Note:

  1. Non-fire incidents include non-fire false alarms

For the year ending March 2022, there was an 11 per cent increase in all incidents compared to the previous year. The increase in incidents attended this year compared with the previous year was driven by increases in all three main incident types (fires, non-fire incidents and fire false alarms), as restrictions to life due to the coronovirus (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.

Figure 1.1 shows that of the 577,053 total incidents, fire false alarms made up the majority of incidents with 40 per cent, with non-fire incidents (34 per cent) and fires (26 per cent) making up the remainder of incidents. The percentage of incidents that were non-fire incidents is higher than in recent years, and in contrast the percentage that were fires was lower than in recent years.

2. Fires attended

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.

Primary fires are those that meet at least one of the following criteria - occurred in a (non-derelict) building, vehicle or outdoor structure or involved a fatality, casualty or rescue or were attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Secondary fires are generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property.

Chimney fires are in (non-industrial) buildings where the flame was contained within the chimney structure.

Key results

In the year ending March 2022:

  • FRSs attended 152,608 fires, a one per cent increase compared with the previous year (151,095) and a 32 per cent decrease compared with ten years ago (223,937 in the year ending March 2012) Source: FIRE0102

  • there were 63,482 primary fires, a three per cent increase compared with the previous year (61,911) Source: FIRE0102

  • FRSs attended 783 fires in purpose-built high-rise (10+ storeys) flats or maisonettes, an eight per cent increase compared with the previous year (726) and accounted for three per cent of the 27,166 primary dwelling fires attended Source: FIRE0205

Total fires

The long-term picture shows that 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 financial year to March 2004 to around 154,000 in the year ending March 2013. The total has subsequently varied between around 150,000 and 185,000 - with the highest annual figure in the year to March 2019, caused by the hot, dry summer of 2018.

Figure 2.1: Total fires attended by type of fire, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0102

Figure 2.1 shows the long-term trend in fire incidents from year ending March 2000 to year ending March 2022, for primary (split into dwelling and other primary) and secondary plus chimney fires. The series high for secondary plus chimney fires occurred in year ending March 2004, which experienced an unusually hot and dry summer. This reflects the fact that the total number of fires attended in a single year can often be affected by external factors, particularly the weather. Weather is more likely to affect outdoor primary and secondary fires which make up a large share of all fires (over half in almost every year since these figures became available in year ending March 2000).

More recently the number of fires in the year ending March 2022 decreased by six per cent compared with five years ago (162,049) and decreased by 32 per cent compared with ten years ago (223,937). The total number of fires increased by one per cent from 151,095 in the year ending March 2021 to 152,608 in the year ending March 2022 (Figure 2.1).

Primary fires

In the year ending March 2022 there were 63,482 primary fires (42% of the 152,608 fires attended). This was a three per cent increase compared with the previous year (61,911), a 15 per cent decrease compared with five years ago (74,946) and a 27 per cent decrease compared with ten years ago (86,982).

There are four types of primary fires - dwelling fires, other building fires, road vehicle fires and other outdoor fires. In the year ending March 2022 there were:

  • 27,166 dwelling fires, this has increased by one per cent compared with the previous year (27,016), it decreased by ten per cent compared with five years ago (30,351) and it decreased by 23 per cent compared with ten years ago (35,417). Dwelling fires made up 43 per cent of primary fires in the year ending March 2022

  • 12,939 other building fires, this has increased by nine per cent compared with the previous year (11,920), it decreased by 18 per cent compared with five years ago (15,867) and it decreased by 36 per cent compared with ten years ago (20,321). Other buildings fires made up 20 per cent of primary fires in the year ending March 2022

  • 18,381 road vehicle fires, this has increased by five per cent compared with the previous year (17,520), it decreased by 22 per cent compared with five years ago (23,545) and it decreased by 23 per cent compared with ten years ago (23,846). Road vehicle fires made up 29 per cent of primary fires in the year ending March 2022

  • 4,996 other outdoor fires, this has decreased by eight per cent compared with the previous year (5,455), it decreased by four per cent compared with five years ago (5,183) and it decreased by 32 per cent compared with ten years ago (7,398). Other outdoor fires made up eight per cent of primary fires in the year ending March 2022

Of the 27,166 primary dwelling fires attended by FRSs, 73 per cent were in houses, bungalows, converted flats and other properties, whilst 27 per cent were in purpose-built flats or maisonettes.

When looking at fires in purpose-built flats or maisonettes in more detail, 17 per cent of primary dwelling fires were in purpose-built low-rise (1-3 storeys) flats or maisonettes; seven per cent were in purpose-built medium-rise (4-9 storeys) flats or maisonettes and three per cent were in purpose-built high-rise (10+ storeys) flats or maisonettes.

FRSs attended 783 fires in purpose-built high-rise (10+ storeys) flats or maisonettes, an eight per cent increase compared with the previous year (726), a ten per cent increase compared with five years ago (713) and a 26 per cent decrease compared with ten years ago (1,060). The number of fires in purpose-built high-rise (10+ storeys) flats or maisonettes accounted for three per cent of the 27,166 primary dwelling fires attended in the year ending March 2022, a similar proportion to last year.

3. Fire false alarms

Fire false alarms are where an FRS attends a location believing there to be a fire incident but, on arrival, discovers that no such incident exists or existed. These are broadly categorised by motive into ‘due to apparatus’, ‘good intent’ and ‘malicious’.

Due to apparatus calls are where a fire alarm or fire-fighting equipment operates (including accidental initiation by persons) in error.

Good intent false alarm calls are made in good faith in the belief that the FRS really would be attending a fire.

Malicious false alarm calls are raised with the intention of getting the FRS to attend a non-existent incident.

Key result

In the year ending March 2022:

  • FRSs attended 229,844 fire false alarms, a six per cent increase compared with the previous year (216,169), a three per cent increase compared with five years ago (223,965) and an eight per cent decrease compared with ten years ago (249,484). Source: FIRE0104

The number of fire false alarms attended by FRSs in England was on a general downward trajectory, from a peak of around 393,900 in 2001/02 to a low of around 214,400 in 2015/16. The number then climbed to around 231,000 in 2018/19.

It has been broadly stable since (see Figure 3.1).

The proportion of total incidents that were fire false alarms in the year ending March 2022 was 40 per cent.

Figure 3.1: Total fire false alarms by type of false alarm, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0102

Fire false alarms by type

Fire false alarms are broadly categorised by motive into ‘due to apparatus’, ‘good intent’ and ‘malicious’. In the year ending March 2022 there were:

  • 159,720 fire false alarms due to apparatus: a 14 per cent increase from the previous year (140,164), a five per cent increase from five years previously (151,737) and a five per cent decrease from ten years previously (167,553) Source: FIRE0104

  • 63,857 fire false alarms due to good intent: a ten per cent decrease from the previous year (71,191), a two per cent decrease from five years previously (65,271) and a 12 per cent decrease from ten years previously (72,314) Source: FIRE0104

  • 6,267 malicious fire false alarms: a 30 per cent increase from the previous year (4,814), a ten per cent decrease from five years previously (6,957) and a 35 per cent decrease from ten years previously (9,617) Source: FIRE0104

  • fire false alarms due to apparatus made up 69 per cent of all fire false alarms, fire false alarms due to good intent were 28 per cent and malicious fire false alarms were three per cent, those percentages compare to 65 per cent, 33 per cent and two per cent (respectively) in the previous year

The differing directions of change in false alarm incident types have, in part, appeared to be the result of the three national lockdowns, various local lockdowns and restrictions on life throughout the year ending March 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are discussed further in Fire and rescue incident statistics: England, year ending March 2021

4. Non-fire incidents attended

FRSs attend many types of incident that are not fires or fire false alarms. These are known as non-fire incidents or special service incidents. Examples include flooding incidents, responding to road traffic collisions, animal assistance and collaboration incidents such as effecting entry or exit and assisting other agencies (a complete list can be found in fire data table FIRE0902).

Key results

In the year ending March 2022:

  • FRSs attended 194,601 non-fire incidents, a 29 per cent increase compared with the previous year (151,006), an 11 per cent increase compared with five years ago (174,680) and a 46 per cent increase compared with ten years ago (133,520) Source: FIRE0901

Of these non-fire incidents:

  • FRSs attended 59,636 collaborating incidents[footnote 1], a 29 per cent increase compared with the previous year (46,352) and an 84 per cent increase compared with five years ago (32,364) Source: FIRE0901

  • FRSs attended 30,624 road traffic collisions, a 36 per cent increase compared with the previous year (22,521) and a two per cent increase compared with five years ago (29,919) Source: FIRE0901

  • FRSs attended 18,240 medical incidents[footnote 2], a 32 per cent increase compared with the previous year (13,809) and a 60 per cent decrease compared with five years ago (45,756) Source: FIRE0901

  • FRSs attended 15,960 flooding incidents, a seven per cent increase compared with the previous year (14,923) and a 13 per cent increase compared with five years ago (14,118) Source: FIRE0901

All non-fire incidents attended

There was a general decline in the number of non-fire incidents attended between the year to March 2008 and the year to September 2015 (Figure 4.1). This was followed by a large increase of almost two-fifths to the year to March 2017, coinciding with the introduction of emergency medical responding (EMR) and the duty to collaborate legislation. When the EMR trial stopped in 2017 the total number of non-fire incidents slowly decreased to around 160,000 in the year ending September 2020.

Figure 4.1: Total non-fire incidents attended by FRSs, England; the year ending March 2000 to the year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0901

In the year ending March 2022 FRSs attended 194,601 non-fire incidents, the largest figure for four quarters since comparable data became available. This was a 29 per cent increase compared with the previous year (151,006), an 11 per cent increase compared with five years ago (174,680) and a 46 per cent increase compared with ten years ago (133,520). The large change between the year to March 2021 and the year to March 2022 partly reflects the impact of national lockdowns and restrictions in 2020 and early 2021.

Types of non-fire incidents

Overall the number of non-fire incidents increased by 29 per cent, compared to the previous year as shown in Table 4.1. The table shows that while all four major incident types increased over this time the largest percentage change was in the number of RTCs. Again, the comparator year was affected by the national lockdowns and restrictions that were particularly strong in the year to March 2021 although as noted above, this is the largest figure for four quarters since comparable data became available.

Table 4.1: The largest categories of non-fire incidents attended by FRSs in England; year ending March 2021 to year ending March 2022

Non-fire incident type 2020/21 2021/22 % change
Total non-fire incidents 151,006 194,601 +29%
Collaborating incidents 46,352 59,636 +29%
Road traffic collisions 22,521 30,624 +36%
Medical incidents 13,809 18,240 +32%
Flooding incidents 14,923 15,960 +7%

Source: FIRE0901, FIRE0902

The 29 per cent increase in collaborating incidents, compared to the previous year, continues a recent trend of increases.

In the year to March 2015, there were 21,146 collaborating incidents, this total had virtually doubled by the end of the year to March 2019 (41,635) and nearly trebled by the year to March 2022 (59,636).

The start of the increase coincided with the duty to collaborate legislation, whereby each emergency service “must keep under consideration whether entering into a collaboration agreement with one or more other relevant emergency services in England could be in the interests of the efficiency or effectiveness of that service and those other services.”

The seven per cent increase in flooding incidents, compared to the previous year, is likely due to worse rainfall-related weather events in the year ending March 2022.

The 32 per cent increase in medical incidents compared to the previous year counters a recent trend of decreases. The recent downward trend follows the removal of FBU support for emergency medical responding (EMR) trials. These trials began in 2015 when the National Joint Council (NJC) supported trials where FRSs formed agreements with ambulance trusts to undertake health and care related work, in particular, co-responding. There was a large increase of almost two-fifths to the year to March 2017, coinciding with the introduction. Following the withdrawal of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) support in September 2017, the number of these incidents decreased to a level slightly higher than before the trials.

The 36 per cent increase in road traffic collisions, compared to March 2021, probably reflects increases in road traffic, particularly in 2021 compared to 2020 where the number of journeys were affected by national lockdowns and restrictions. Prior to the number of journeys being affected by lockdown the series was relatively stable.

Fire-related fatalities are 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 are those resulting from a fire, whether the injury was caused by the fire or not.

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.

Key results

In the year ending March 2022:

  • there were 272 fire-related fatalities (see Figure 5.1) compared with 237 in the previous year (an increase of 15 per cent), 264 five years ago and 313 ten years ago Source: FIRE0502

  • The 272 fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2022 included 99 fire-related fatalities from the final three months of 2021, which was the highest quarterly figure recorded since April, May and June in 2017 (the quarter the Grenfell Tower fire occurred in) and prior to that the largest since October, November and December in 2008 - the quarterly figure for January to March 2022 is more in line with recent quarterly data than with October to December 2021

  • there were 208 fire-related fatalities in dwelling fires, compared with 185 in the previous year (an increase of 12 per cent)

  • there were 6,307 non-fatal casualties[footnote 3], a one per cent decrease compared with 6,362 in the previous year - this includes 2,591 casualties requiring hospital treatment, a one per cent decrease compared with the 2,608 in the previous year Source: FIRE0502

The number of fire-related fatalities in England was on a general downward trend from 1981/82, when comparable figures first became available. The number decreased particularly in the 1990s and 2000s but have been relatively stable, at historically low levels, since the mid 2010s. There was an exceptionally high figure in year ending December 2017 (Figure 5.1) due to the Grenfell Tower fire [footnote 4] . It should also be noted that the numbers of fire-related fatalities are prone to year-on-year fluctuations due to relatively low numbers.

Source: FIRE0502

Note:

  1. Fire-related fatalities are those that would not have otherwise occurred had there not been a fire, those where the role of fire in the fatality was “not known” are included in “fire-related”.

The number of fire-related fatalities in the year ending March 2022 (272) included 99 fire-related fatalities from the final three months of 2021, which was the highest quarterly figure recorded since April, May and June in 2017 (the quarter the Grenfell Tower fire occurred in) and prior to that the largest since October, November and December in 2008 - the quarterly figure for January to March 2022 is more in line with recent quarterly data than with October to December 2021. The 272 fire-related fatalities included 208 in dwelling fires (consistently the largest category). It should also be noted that the numbers of fire-related fatalities, whether annual or quarterly, are prone to fluctuations due to relatively low numbers. The total number of fire-related fatalities is at a historically low level.

A very small proportion of fires resulted in a fire-related fatality in the year ending March 2022: 224 out of the 63,482 primary fires (0.35%). This proportion compares with the previous year, when there were 224 fires with a fire-related fatality, out of the 61,911 primary fires (0.36%).

There were zero fire-related fatalities in purpose-built high-rise (10+ storeys) flats or maisonettes in the year ending March 2022, in zero fatal fires. FRSs attended 783 fires in these flats or maisonettes. This compares to six fire-related fatalities in the previous year in four fatal fires.

There were ten fire-related fatalities in purpose-built medium-rise (4 to 9 storeys) flats or maisonettes in the year ending March 2022, in nine fatal fires. FRSs attended 1,907 fires in these flats or maisonettes. This compares to nine fire-related fatalities in the previous year in eight fatal fires.

There were 20 fire-related fatalities in purpose-built low-rise (1 to 3 storeys) flats or maisonettes in the year ending March 2022, in 20 fatal fires. FRSs attended 4,645 fires in these flats or maisonettes. This compares to 31 fire-related fatalities in the previous year in 31 fatal fires.

There were 115 fire-related fatalities in single occupancy houses in the year ending March 2022, compared to 90 in the previous year.

A full breakdown of fire-related fatalities by dwelling type can be found in table FIRE0205b.

Non-fatal casualties

The number of non-fatal casualties in fires in England has been on a downward trend since the mid-1990s. More detailed data became available due to the introduction of the online IRS in 2009, and since then the “hospital slight” and “first aid” categories have shown the biggest decline.

Figure 5.2: Total non-fatal casualties in fires by injury severity, England; the year ending March 1982 to the year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE0502

Note:

  1. These figures are for all casualties in fires, whether the fire caused the casualty or not.

Overall in the year ending March 2022, there were 6,307 non-fatal casualties, a one per cent decrease compared with 6,362 in the previous year. This change comprised four components - hospital severe (a one per cent decrease compared to the previous year, to 549 in the year ending March 2022), hospital slight (a one per cent decrease compared to the previous year, to 2,042), first aid given (a one per cent decrease compared to the previous year, to 1,931) and precautionary check recommended (a one per cent decrease compared to the previous year, to 1,785). It should be noted that casualties recorded as hospital severe have remained low but fluctuate from year to year. (Figure 5.2)

6. Response times to fire incidents

Headline findings on response times have been included in Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics since the year ending March 2021 edition. Table FIRE1001 is published alongside this release and shows greater detail than this commentary. For example, breakdowns by time components. Full commentary and further tables for the financial year 2020 to 2021 can be found in Detailed Analysis of Fire Response Times

Key results

In the year ending March 2022:

  • the average total response time to primary fires[footnote 5] in England was 8 minutes and 50 seconds: an increase of 15 seconds since the previous year and of 12 seconds when compared to five years ago Source: FIRE1001

  • all types of primary fires showed an increase in average response times (dwelling fires by 16 seconds, other building fires by 13 seconds, road vehicle fires by 21 seconds and other outdoor fires by nine seconds)

  • the average total response time to secondary fires[footnote 6] in England decreased by ten seconds, compared with the previous year, to 9 minutes and 13 seconds

Response times to fire incidents

Total response time is the minutes and seconds elapsed from the time of call to the arrival of the first vehicle to the incident.

The following incidents are not included in response time totals.

a. Road vehicle fires, where the road vehicle was abandoned.

b. Where the location of the fire was a derelict property.

c. Where an FRS learned of the fire when it was known to have already been extinguished (known as “late calls”).

d. Where the total response time for an incident was over an hour or less than one minute (to avoid erroneous data or exceptional incidents from skewing the averages)

e. Where the sequence of events (time of call - mobilisation - vehicle mobile - arrival at scene) in an incident is not recorded in a logical sequence, either through recording error (e.g. a vehicle appears to have arrived before it left) or absence of data (null values).

Looking at the long-term trend, response times to fires increased gradually between the year ending March 1995 (when these data were first collected) and now. The average total response time to primary fires in the year ending March 2022 was 8 minutes and 50 seconds, an increase of 47 seconds over the past decade, 12 seconds in the past five years and 15 seconds over the last year - the pattern varied across different types of fire (see Figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1: Average total response times (minutes) by type of fire, England; year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2022

Source: FIRE1001

The average response time to dwelling fires increased by 16 seconds in the year ending March 2022 compared with the previous year (from 7 minutes and 36 seconds to 7 minutes and 52 seconds). Within the dwelling fire category, the average response time to fires in purpose-built flats/maisonettes was 7 minutes and 7 seconds; to houses and bungalows it was 8 minutes and 20 seconds and 7 minutes and 44 seconds for other dwellings. This may reflect the fact that flats are generally in urban locations which tend to be in closer proximity to a fire station than rural areas.

The average response time to other building fires in the year ending March 2022 was 8 minutes and 49 seconds, an increase of 13 seconds compared with the previous year. Of these, the average response time to fires in other residential buildings (such as student halls of residence, nursing or care homes and hotels) was 8 minutes and 21 seconds, compared with 8 minutes and 52 seconds for non-residential buildings. This was likely due to FRSs prioritising fires with the greatest risk to life.

Response times for road vehicle fires increased. The average response time in the year ending March 2022 was 9 minutes and 48 seconds, an increase of 21 seconds compared with the previous year.

The average response time to other outdoor fires increased by nine seconds to 11 minutes and 17 seconds. It should be noted that other outdoor fires are numerically the smallest of the main primary fire types and so are prone to fluctuation as illustrated in Figure 6.1.

In the year ending March 2022 the average response time to secondary fires was 9 minutes and 13 seconds, a decrease of ten seconds from last year. This was the only incident type that response times are published for (fires attended, but not fire false alarms or non-fire incidents) to show a decrease in average response time between March 2021 and March 2022.

7. Summary of changes over time

Table 7.1: Number of incidents, comparing the year ending March 2022 with one, five and ten years previously

Incident type 2021/22 2020/21 1 year change 2016/17 5 year change 2011/12 10 year change
All incidents 577,053 518,270 +11% 560,694 +3% 606,941 -5%
Fires 152,608 151,095 +1% 162,049 -6% 223,937 -32%
Primary fires 63,482 61,911 +3% 74,946 -15% 86,982 -27%
Dwelling fires 27,166 27,016 +1% 30,351 -10% 35,417 -23%
Accidental dwelling fires 24,481 24,287 +1% 27,246 -10% 30,802 -21%
Secondary fires 86,518 86,080 +1% 82,862 +4% 131,124 -34%
Fire false alarms 229,844 216,169 +6% 223,965 +3% 249,484 -8%
Non-fire incidents 194,601 151,006 +29% 174,680 +11% 133,520 +46%
Fatalities and non-fatal casualties 2021/22 2020/21 1 year change 2016/17 5 year change 2011/12 10 year change
Fire-related fatalities 272 237 +15% 264 +3% 313 -13%
Fire-related fatalities in dwellings 208 185 +12% 216 -4% 232 -10%
Non-fatal casualties 6,307 6,362 -1% 7,103 -11% 9,374 -33%
Non-fatal casualties requiring hospital treatment 2,591 2,608 -1% 3,126 -17% 4,296 -40%
Non-fatal casualties in dwellings 4,765 4,885 -2% 5,372 -11% 7,302 -35%

Table 7.3: Average response times, comparing the year ending March 2022 with one, five and ten years previously

Fire type 2021/22 2020/21 1 year change 2016/17 5 year change 2011/12 10 year change
Primary fires 8m 50s 8m 35s +15s 8m 38s +12s 8m 3s +47s
Dwellings 7m 52s 7m 36s +16s 7m 46s +6s 7m 16s +36s
Other buildings 8m 49s 8m 36s +13s 8m 30s +19s 7m 49s +1m 0s
Road vehicles 9m 48s 9m 27s +21s 9m 36s +12s 9m 0s +48s
Other outdoors 11m 17s 11m 8s +9s 10m 40s +37s 9m 54s +1m 23s
Secondary fires 9m 13s 9m 23s -10s 9m 9s +4s 8m 37s +36s

Source: Fire statistics data tables

8. 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 (PDF, 418KB). 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.

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 2022. This includes incident records that were submitted to the IRS by 29 June 2022, when a snapshot of the database was taken for the purpose of analysis. As a snapshot of the dataset was taken on 29 June 2022, 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.

COVID-19 and the impact on the IRS

The figures presented in this release relate to incidents attended by FRSs during year ending March 2022.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales started from 12 March 2020. In England three 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 for this year and the comparator year.

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.

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

These include:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also publish statistical releases on fire

These include:

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.

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. Collaborating incidents include “Assisting other agencies”, “Effecting entry or exit” and “Suicide or suicide attempts”. ↩

  2. Medical incidents include “First responder” and “Co-responder” incidents. ↩

  3. For more detailed technical definitions of fire-related and non-fatal casualties, see the Fire Statistics Definitions document. A further breakdown of the different types of non-fatal casualties is available in the published fire data tables. ↩

  4. For more information on the Grenfell Tower fire and how the associated fire-related fatalities figures are recorded, see the Fire Statistics Definitions document. ↩

  5. Primary fires are those that meet at least one of the following criteria - occurred in a (non-derelict) building, vehicle or outdoor structure or involved a fatality, casualty or rescue or were attended by five or more pumping appliances. ↩

  6. Secondary fires are generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property. ↩

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