Fire and Rescue Service Performance 2008-09

Some key facts for 2008-09:

• In 2008-09, there were 19,600 fires attended by the fire and rescue services in Wales, a fall of a fifth compared to 2007-08. This change was mainly due to a reduction in the number of deliberate fires.
• During 2008-09, there were 19 deaths due to fire in Wales; 12 less than in 2007-08. Most fire deaths during 2008-09 were caused by fires started accidentally.
• The three fire and rescue services attended most of the 1,944 fires that fell within the 10-minute standard within 10 minutes. This ranged from 88% of such fires in North Wales to 94% of such fires in South Wales.
• This Service Standard aims to provide 80% of Welsh homes with attendance within 10 minutes to a fire in the home. As a result of local population numbers, density and types, some areas have a 5-minute attendance standard for fires in the home. During 2008-09 the fire and rescue services in Wales attended almost half of the 462 fires that fell within the five-minute service standard within five minutes.