21 June 2013
The States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service has published its 2012 Annual Review.
The report includes statistics on the service's work and the number of incidents in Jersey. The key points are:
In 2012 the service:
- met its response times for high risk property fires (first fire engine in 10 minutes and second fire engine in 13 minutes) on 96% of occasions
- responded to 1,067 incidents, a slight decrease on the 1,093 incidents attended in 2011, continuing a downward trend, and the lowest number of emergency incidents in more than 40 years
- rescued 12 people from property fires
- attended 587 automatic fire alarm-related incidents, a 4.4% increase on 2011 (a new policy to reduce the number of false fire alarms attended by the service resulted in a non-attendance at 195 fire alarms in 2012)
In 2012:
- the number of fires slightly increased to 233 compared to 228 in 2011, mainly due to 14.7% increase in the number of primary (insurable loss) fires
- there were 51 house fires, identical to 2011
- there were no fire deaths, which made it the longest sustained period (five years) without a fire death since records began. (This successful preventative period has now come to an end with the recent death of an elderly man in a fire at Victoria Cottage Homes)
- the number of people injured in dwelling fires increased from 5 to 12 - the low numbers involved create natural volatility
Rescues
In 2012, the service attended 319 emergency special services (non-fire incidents that threaten life or damage), a slight increase on the 301 incidents attended in 2011. Despite the slight increase, the overall trend is reducing and 2012 activity levels were 24% lower than the average from 2008-2012.
The number of road traffic accidents continued to fall in 2012, with the service only attending 55 incidents, the lowest number in the last five years.
In 2012 the service rescued 79 people from non-fire emergencies:
| Road traffic accidents |
17 |
|---|
| Cliff rescues |
7 |
|---|
| Water rescues |
7 |
|---|
| Entrapments |
24 |
|---|
| Lifts |
24 |
|---|
Reducing risk
In 2012 a small, specially trained and qualified fire safety team (all of whom are operational firefighters) carried out 632 fire protection inspections, issued 105 licenses and completed 255 various reports.
The service carried out 153 home fire safety visits in 2012, installing 184 smoke detectors.
Of the 51 house fires attended in 2012:
- only 26 (51%) had working smoke alarms
- 17 (33%) had a smoke alarm which did not operate
- 8 (28%) did not have smoke alarms fitted
These figures show a decline in smoke alarm effectiveness compared to 2011 when 57% of fires attended had working smoke alarms and only eight (16%) had smoke alarms which did not work.
As part of the service’s fire safety education programme for schools, the service delivered Sparks, a one-hour fire safety session to all Year 4 students in each of the Island’s 32 primary schools. The service also attended seven nurseries and continued to deliver community safety at public events by attending 10 of the Island’s main events.
Cadet force
In 2012 a group of firefighters and fire officers set up the Jersey Fire and Rescue Cadet Force, which is the first of its kind to be run in Jersey.
Chief Fire Officer Mark James said "The Fire and Rescue Service is passionate about reducing the number of fires and other emergencies in Jersey. It is fantastic to see that our hard work has achieved a 40-year low in the number of emergencies we attended in 2012.
"There was, however, an increase in the number of fires in insurable property, particularly commercial and industrial premises, which highlights the importance of maintaining both an effective emergency response and a comprehensive fire safety programme."
gov.je