House fires increase during pandemic, but deliberate blazes drop - how call-outs have changed for Hartlepool's fire brigade

Cleveland Fire Authority heard at its latest meeting the total number of calls received by fire control from April 2020 until the end of January was 9,000, down 16% from the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile the total number of incidents attended was 6,380, a 13% reduction compared to the previous period.

Ian Hayton, chief fire officer at Cleveland Fire Brigade, noted certain types of incidents in particular likely saw reductions due to lockdowns in place.

This included the number of deliberate secondary fires, which dropped to 2,205, while the number of road traffic collisions attended was down to 215.

He said: “Where has that fall come from? A lot you can put down in relation to the lockdown process.

“Our deliberate secondary fires are down 21% so that’s over 600 incidents less because of deliberate secondary fires, that’s your rubbish fires, your grassland, your small fires.

“Road traffic collisions, there’s less traffic on the roads, certainly at the outset, so there was a 23% reduction in the number of road traffic collisions that we attend.”

The number of deliberate primary fires also reduced by 11% to 326 incidents, while non-domestic unwanted fire signals decreased by 19% to 317

However Mr Hayton noted the number of accidental dwelling fires had increased by 13 incidents to 129, likely due to the lockdown period meaning people were spending more time in their homes.

However Cleveland is still one of the best in the country for its low-rate of accidental house fires, he added.

Mr Hayton also noted firefighters carried out 20% less home fire safety checks due to Covid-19, but still managed to carry out almost 12,000 to help prevent house fires.

He said: “Our eyes are always drawn to the red.

“Quite clearly in lockdown periods people are spending more time at home, and therefore we are looking at this issue to do with accidental dwelling fires, that have increased against our comparative period in the previous year by 11%.

“Even though that leaves us right near the bottom of the league table in relation to what we’re doing, it is an increase in relation to what we’ve had in the past.

“We have still done 12,000 visits to homes to those that are most vulnerable.

“We are working in these areas, we are using digital and data technology to actually ensure that we can turn that trend around in relation to the increase in accidental dwelling fires, and supporting the community whilst they are at home.”

Cllr Mary Ovens, Redcar and Cleveland representative on the authority, praised the brigade for continuing to carry out visits to support those in need despite the pandemic, adding it helped several residents she knew of.

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