Facts & Figures
Arson remains a major fire threat in England and Wales with an overall estimated cost to the economy of £2.53 billion per annum. In the last decade there have been about 2.3 million deliberate fires resulting in 25,000 injuries and over 900 deaths.
On an average week in England its communities suffer:
- Over 1,200 serious (primary) fires
- 50 injuries
- 2 deaths
- A cost to society of over £45 million
WMFS School Fires
In 2008/9 the WMFS recorded 10 incidents of arson - 9 less than 2007/8 a terrific 47% reduction.
However we also need to inform you that in the same period 26 accidental school fires were recorded a - 100% increase on 2007/8.
In view of the accidental fire increase further analysis was carried out by the WMFS and we need to update you to further reduce your risks and drive down those recorded incidents to prevent your school from becoming a 2009/10 statistic.
The West Midlands accidental fire facts:
- The most likely rooms for the accidental fires in schools to start is the kitchen or a classroom
- The most common source of ignition is faulty fluorescent tube light fittings (20%)
- The second most common cause of ignition is your fixed mains wiring
- The most common day for accidental fires is a Friday (27%)
- 43% of accidental fires occur between 10am and 2pm
- By enforcing your school 'work permit' and 'hot work policy' many serious fires will be reduced
The above information allows us to suggest that schools should look at introducing lighting patterns to minimise how long any given light is left on at night as part of your crime prevention activities. We simply suggest that when the school is not in use you use alternative classrooms and rooms lighting to reduce the regular prolonged use of lighting thus reducing the risk of ignition from florescent light fittings, if you know a light has become an ignition source in the past then consider up grading that light fitting.
We have included this new information to the WMATF schools fire and crime reduction advice project 'Keep Your School In Business' available as FREE downloads ideal to assist you to carry out or review your mandatory Fire Risk assessment.
Latest West Midlands Arson Figures
| 2001/2 | 2002/31 | 2003/4 | 2004/5 | 2005/62 | 2006/7 | 2007/8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arson fires in dwellings | 1,068 | 940 | 950 | 792 | 672 | 613 | 558 |
| Arson fires in non-domestic premises | 635 | 547 | 543 | 475 | 403 | 388 | 293 |
| Arson vehicle fires | 4,898 | 4,753 | 4,078 | 3,156 | 2,518 | 1,890 | 1,582 |
| Outdoor (secondary) arson fires | 13,466 | 14,366 | 19,347 | 10,872 | 11,593 | 13,082 | 9,666 |
| Arson derelict building fires (secondary) | 748 | 836 | 848 | 632 | 585 | 560 | 452 |
| The number of injuries from fires | 391 | 405 | 360 | 312 | 278 | 250 | 215 |
| 2008/9 | Difference 2001/2 to 2008/9 | % Difference 2001/2 to 2008/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arson fires in dwellings | 487 | -581 | -54.4% |
| Arson fires in non-domestic premises | 242 | -393 | -61.9% |
| Arson vehicle fires | 1,377 | -3,521 | -71.9% |
| Outdoor (secondary) arson fires | 7,933 | -5,533 | -41.1% |
| Arson derelict building fires (secondary) | 384 | -364 | -48.7% |
| The number of injuries from fires | 201 | -190 | -48.6% |
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1 This data excludes the 10 days of industrial action in 2002 and 2003 2 This data excludes the 9 hours of industrial action in November 2005 |
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WMATF is delighted to see an overall 68% reduction for Arson Property Fires. Please note the figures are compared to financial year 2001/02 as per our main target of arson reduction.