London Fire Brigade has hit the majority of its targets for the year ending March 2014, including average fire engine arrival times, reducing fatalities and reducing fire related injuries.
Fire Authority members agreed the report detailing the end of year figures at a meeting of the governance, performance and audit (GPAC) committee this week.
This is the first end of year report providing insight into the impact of the Fifth London Safety Plan, which included efficiency savings of £30m. Ten fire stations were closed in January 2014, and the performance figures show that the average arrival response times for first and second fire engines have as predicted remained within six minutes for a first fire engine and eight minutes for a second. (2)
The report also shows that fire deaths are decreasing. There are an average of 51 fire deaths a year which is below the target of 54.(2) Over ten years there has been a 20% reduction in fire fatalities.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said:
“This report is a good indicator that we are meeting targets after making difficult changes to the way we deliver our services. Maintaining the very best service for London remains my priority at all times and due to the hard work of staff at stations and right across the Brigade we are working together to achieve these results. We must not be complacent and will continue to monitor and improve our work to prevent, protect and respond.”
The full report also provides comparisons with other Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services, and reports that by comparison London has the lowest number of fires per 100,000 of the population, against Brigades in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
Ends
Notes to editors
• (1) The speed of attendance to incidents by both first and second fire engines remains well within the annual performance targets although there is a slight increase compared to last year (impacted by the removal of second appliances held for contingency purposes in the event of a strike):
Average Attendance Time
|
Target |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
|
|
First fire engine |
6 minutes |
5 minutes 18 seconds |
5 minutes 23 seconds |
|
Second fire engine |
8 minutes |
6 minutes 28 seconds |
6 minutes seconds 46 seconds |
• (2) Fire deaths are measured over a ten year average rather than a yearly average. This is because the numbers are relatively low and a small fluctuation can distort the figures and give an inaccurate picture of the overall trend. There were 43 fire deaths in 2013/4 down from 55 in 2012/3 and 58 in 2011/12.
o The number of primary fires fell, there were 10,992 in 2013/14 (compared to 11,487 in 2012/13) – a four per cent reduction.
o Fires in the home fell with 5,986 in 2013/14 (compared to 6,417 in 2012/13), seven per cent fewer than 2012/13.
o The total number of incidents attended was 102,090 in 2013/14 (compared to 104,776 in 2012.13) – a three per cent reduction.
• Following the implementation of the Fifth London Safety Plan a new series of reports called Fire Facts will be produced each year to provide the public with greater insight into everything the Brigade does. The first report on appliance response times for the year ending December 2013 was published last month.