Firefighters deal with highest number of blazes in five years

According to the report, a total of 62 house fires were attended by officers last year – a ten per cent increase on 2013 when there were 56 incidents recorded.

And in addition to the increase in domestic blazes, the number of fires in public and commercial premises last year – including the dramatic fire at the Boat House restaurant and bar in September – was the highest in the past decade.

14 people were injured in house fires
42 per cent of homes that suffered a fire had a working smoke alarm
89 road traffic collisions were attended to
22 rescues were made from the sea
96 fire safety training courses were given to Island businesses
205 home fire safety visits were made and 215 smoke detectors were installed[/breakout]

Overall, the number of fires increased from 244 in 2013 to 268 and the total number of incidents attended by the service – including road traffic collisions and water and sea rescues – was up from 1,186 the previous year to 1,267.

Other notable changes detailed in the report included a rise in the number of false fire calls detected from domestic fire alarms, and a slight decrease in the number of people rescued from fires.

Meanwhile, the cost of the Island’s Fire and Rescue service last year was found to be the cheapest of similar small jurisdictions in the UK – working out at £51.20 per head of the population.

Chief fire officer Mark James said that the report highlighted a ‘worrying continued upward trend’ in the number of fires in the Island.

‘The Fire and Rescue Service is passionate about reducing the number of fires and other emergencies in Jersey,’ he said. ‘Despite the huge effort the service undertakes to prevent fires and other emergencies there has been a continued upward trend in incidents with 2014 being our busiest year since 2010.’

Mr James said that was unsure of the reason why there had been such an increase in the number of fires in public, commercial and industrial premises.

Mr James said that the service would continue to do everything it could to promote fire safety and protect people from harm which he said would be a ‘challenge in the coming years with reduced budgets and less firefighters’.

‘We will have to be innovative and look at new ways of working to try to carry on delivering the same level of service with fewer resources,’ he said.