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Tower block fires rise for first time since 2011
Fires in tower blocks have increased for the first time since 2011/12, official statistics show.
Numbers released last week by the Home Office show there were 801 fires in residential high rises of 10 storeys or taller in 2017/18, up from 713 the year before.
That is the most fires recorded in tower blocks in England since 2013/14, when there were 800 blazes.
Fire services attended 30,744 fires last year, up from 30,343 a year previously.
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Bungalows were the only type of dwelling which did not see an increase in fires, while incidents in blocks of flats between four and nine storeys rose for the first time since 2009/10.
There was a 23% rise in the number of residential fire-related fatalities in 2017/18 from 214 to 263 – with 72 of these resulting from the Grenfell Tower atrocity on 14 June.
Non-fatal casualties increased 1.5% to 5,447, including 77 from Grenfell.
Numbers of fires and fire-related casualties have generally been falling steadily in recent years.
Roy Wilsher, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said: “Fire services are working exceptionally hard on prevention and protection measures, but an increase in incidents will put further pressures on services which are already being stretched.
“We also need to bear in mind that the number of wholetime firefighters has fallen by 21% since 2010/2011 and it is vital that communities across the country have complete confidence in their emergency services, at a time we are increasingly facing more public scrutiny.”
He added that fire brigades are likely to face increased workloads in the wake of Grenfell and the Hackitt Review of building regulations.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “While the number of firefighters is falling, the work of fire and rescue services has changed hugely in recent years.
“Over the past 10 years the total number of fire incidents in England has nearly halved – down 43% – and work to prevent fires from starting in the first place has seen real success.”
