This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Fire statistics 2005
26/03/2007
There were 65 fatal casualties in Scottish fires in 2005, a fall of 34 (34 per cent) from 2004, according to official statistics published today.
Other main findings include:
- In 2005, the total number of fires in Scotland was 46,971, slightly up from 46,933 in 2004. Of these fires, 15,126 (32 per cent) were primary fires, 30,389 (65 per cent) were secondary fires and 1,456 (3 per cent) were chimney fires
- The number of non-fatal casualties in Scotland in 2005 was 1,667, a decrease of 10 per cent compared with 2004
- There were 5,847 deliberate primary fires in 2005, representing 39 per cent of total primary fires. This was down from 6,532, 41 per cent of total primary fires, in 2004
- In 2005, total false fire alarms in Scotland constituted 53,506 incidents, representing 53 per cent of total call outs
- In comparison to the other UK countries, Scotland reported both the highest number of fatal casualties per million population and the highest rate of non-fatal casualties (to those not working for fire and rescue services) per million population
- The main source of ignition in accidental fires in the home was smokers' materials and matches (56 per cent) followed by cooking appliances (18 per cent), mainly involving misuse of equipment
- The majority of fatal casualties occurred in house fires where there was either no smoke detector or the smoke detector failed to operate
HM Chief Inspectorate of Fire Services published their annual report in December 2006, including some data on fires and fatalities for the period 2005-06. Although Fire Statistics Scotland 2005 covers an earlier time period (calendar year 2005), it contains more comprehensive data on fires, as well as comparisons to other UK countries.
The bulletin reports on a number of different types of fires defined as follows:
- Primary fires: If a fire involves a casualty or rescue, or is attended by five or more appliances then it is classed as a primary fire, regardless of its actual location. A fire may also be classed as primary if it occurs in any of the following - buildings (not derelict, not under demolition); caravans; vehicles and other methods or transport (not derelict); outdoor storage, plant and machinery or agricultural or forestry premises and property
- Secondary fires: These involve no casualties or rescues and are attended by four or fewer appliances. A fire is also not classed as secondary if it is a chimney fire (defined below)
- Chimney fires: These always involve no casualties or rescues, and are attended by four or fewer fire engines. They only occur in occupied buildings where the fire was contained within the chimney structure