While fire and rescue services across the UK attended fewer incidents last year, deliberate fires continue to waste valuable resources and put lives in danger.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service has attended over 20,000 incidents since 2019, with a number of these being deliberate fires, a new investigation has revealed.
Figures obtained by Public Interest Lawyers found that the service has attended 20,552 primary and secondary fires over the past five years, with 35% of these being deliberate fires.
Primary fires are potentially more serious fires that cause harm to people or damage to property.
Secondary fires are generally small outdoor fires, not involving people or property and these include refuse fires, grassland fires and fires in derelict buildings or vehicles.
From 2019 to 2020, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service attended 4,132 primary and secondary fires, which was the third-highest number of fires over the past five years.
Two years later, this number decreased to 3,918, caused by a year of restrictions and lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past year, the service has experienced a drop in primary and secondary fires, with the total standing at 3,517 in 2023/24.
Fire Rescue Services (FRSs) attended 600,324 incidents in the year ending March 2024, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the previous year (622,659).
Of these incidents, there were 138,977 fires, which was a decrease of 22% compared with the previous year (178,867).
Despite this positive drop in fires across the UK, a worrying percentage of these incidents are deliberate fires, which can lead to injuries and fatalities.
Deliberately set fires are dangerous and are a criminal offence. They waste time, money and keep fire crews away from real emergencies.
These deliberately set fires commonly include bins, skips, fly-tipped waste, derelict buildings, dry grass and heathland.
Victims of deliberate fires may lose all their property, be made homeless or be seriously injured.
Public Interest Lawyers also obtained figures on the number of injuries caused by deliberate fires across the UK.
There have been 84 deliberate fire injuries recorded by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service since 2019, with the highest annual total coming in 2021/22, standing at 41.
Whilst the impact of lockdowns in 2021 will have depressed the number of deliberate cases, the figures show that not only is arson the leading single cause of the fire but highlight the extent to which the increasing threat of arson must be taken seriously.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service covers a wide area when attending fire incidents, and this is broken down into locations called station grounds.
Based on figures gathered from the service, the station grounds where the most deliberate fires have occurred since 2019 have been revealed.
Southsea logged the most fires with 639, with Hightown and Redbridge also seeing over 500 incidents take place.
The impact of arson isn’t just financial; it can significantly affect a person’s emotional well-being and sense of security.
Public Interest Lawyers offers free advice and support to those who have suffered burn injuries. They operate a 24-hour helpline and claim online form, which you can access on their website.
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