Deliberate Fires, 2006

Statistics on deliberate fire incidents include data for Wales for the period 2000 to 2006. The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 2 April 2008.

Fires:

• The Welsh Fire and Rescue Services attended around 4,400 deliberate primary fires in 2006, a decrease of 39 per cent from the highest in the period in 2003.
• Between 2000 and 2006, 65 per cent of deliberate fires were in South Wales, 23 per cent in Mid and West Wales and 12 per cent were started in North Wales.
• Between 2000 and 2006 about 1 in 7 deliberate fires in Wales occurred in April.

Vehicles:

• In 2006, there were 2,954 primary fires started deliberately in vehicles, a decrease of 8 per cent from 2005.

School fires:

• In 2006, there were 32 deliberate fires in schools, 19 of which occurred during school hours (08:30-15:59).

Source and Hazardous Materials:

• Furniture and furnishings was the material first ignited in 42 per cent of deliberate primary fires between 2000 and 2006.
• Of the dangerous substances in deliberate primary fires between 2000 and 2006, 32 per cent were petrol and 26 per cent were plastic (rigid) excluding foam

Casualties:

• Between 2000 and 2006, there were 34 fatal casualties and 913 nonfatal casualties in deliberate fires.

Prevention:

• Between 2000 and 2006, sprinklers were present 334 times before the Fire and Rescue Service arrived.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 3371
E-mail: stats.inclusion@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

October 2009 (provisional - to be confirmed on the 'Due Out Soon' page)