Dorset & Wiltshire firefighters attended 1,000 more incidents last year

Deliberate fires and road traffic collision call-outs have increased

Author: Faye TryhornPublished 16th Aug 2023

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue crews responded to almost 1,000 more incidents last year – compared to the year before.

Deliberate fires went up in 2022/23, with an increase in road traffic accidents.

Overall the service responded to 14,668 incidents, compared to 13,858 in 2021/22.

3,377 of those were fires, with 927 classed as deliberate - compared to 743 the year before.

The service attended 711 road traffic collisions - up from 595 in 2021/22 - and rescued 365 people – fewer than in the previous yea,r when the figure was 384.

Non fire related calls took up 4,571 incidents, with service staff supporting partner agencies at 703 incidents, involving a person who had collapsed behind closed doors.

Response times have also improved across the year too.

The average time to reach a fire where there is a sleeping risk, such as residential homes, was 9 mins and 13 seconds in 2022/23, compared to 9 mins and 24 seconds the year before.

For road traffic collisions, the average response time was 11 mins and 59 seconds last year, compared to 12 mins and 6 seconds in 2021/22.

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