Wiltshire firefighters called to fewer blazes last year
But there's a warning there are having to deal with the 'sharp end of climate change'.
Last updated 26th Sep 2020
Data from the Home Office for 2019-20 shows Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue attended a total of 14,027 incidents throughout the year.
But only 23% of those (3,250 incidents) were to actual fires - that's a 15% drop compared to the previous year.
The rest are made up of things like flooding, road traffic collisions, animal assistance, as well as people being stranded, trapped or impaled.
Non-fire incidents, as they're called, increased by 10% compared to 2018-19.
Many of the callouts in 2019-20 were due to flooding or wildfires, prompting a warning that it's the fire brigades that will see the biggest impact on their work due to climate change.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, James Mahoney said they've always been about more than just fires:
"We would want and expect the number of fires we attend to reduce, as we invest significantly into prevention activities and education to achieve this. Greater understanding of the importance of working smoke alarms and improved building techniques have also contributed to these statistics.
"While there is no doubt that climate change is having an impact, not just in terms of more frequent flooding across the country and wildfires as we experienced in our own Service area earlier this year, the role of the fire and rescue service is to respond to emergencies and help save lives. We work with the police, local councils and many other partners to reduce risk and support communities but, ultimately, we are here to help those who need us, in whatever circumstances that may be."
The Fire Brigades Union is also calling for better funding for the service as the types of incidents they deal with change.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said:
"We have seen a significant increase in flooding incidents, likely linked to the mass flooding emergencies across the country over last winter.
"Widespread flooding in the last year and recent wildfires have shown that firefighters are battling the sharp end of climate change.
"Their work should be properly recognised with a statutory duty to respond to floods in England and the proper funding of their service."