New figures show that last year marked another big drop in the number of people injured in property fires across Cumbria.
According to the latest Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service statistics, 18 people were injured in dwelling fires during 2006 compared with 35 the previous year - a 49 per cent reduction.
Last month, the Fire and Rescue Service's work was recognised by Audit Commission who awarded the Cumbrian service the highest possible score in its latest service assesment.
Since 2003, firefighters have carried out more than 30,000 Home Safety Checks. The free checks are designed to make sure people have working smoke detectors, basic fire prevention advice and a plan of how they will get out of their home in the event of a fire.
Figures show that two in every three people who die in fires do so before the Fire and Rescue Service is even called - making it a priority for Cumbrian firefighters to try and make sure everyone, especially people in high risk groups, knows what to do to prevent fires from happening in the first place.
More prevention work is planned for the future, with changes to crewing arrangements at Kendal fire station set to free up around £500,000 for increased safety work and a pay boost for retained firefighters who crew nine in ten of the county's fire engines.
Cumbria's Chief Fire Officer Bernard Dolan said: "These figures are enormously encouraging and reflect the Fire and Rescue Service's success in helping to prevent many fires from happening in the first place through our Home safety Checks which have now been delivered to one in seven Cumbria households."
"The reduction in fire injuries and our excellent Audit Commission rating are testimony to the success of our modernisation programme which is making sure the county's Fire and Rescue Service is ideally placed to prevent and respond to the risks that exist in Cumbria today and in the future."
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Notes
1. Number of people in Cumbria injured in accidental dwelling fires by calendar year:
2003 - 64
2004 - 54
2005 - 37
2006 - 18
2 . The Audit Commission has given the County Council a score of 4 out 4 in the Service Assessment element of how it delivers its fire and rescue services. This is the first time the Fire & Rescue service has been assessed in this way. A previous CPA assessment in 2005 rated the service as 'fair' (other options were 'excellent', 'good', 'weak' and 'poor') by examining yhe corporate governance of the service but did not examine its emergency response.
The score of 4 means the fire and rescue's Sevice Assessment is 'performing strongly - well above minimum requirements'. It has been achieved by combining a range of incident related Best Value Performance Indicators (score = 4) and the operational assessment of service delivery (OASD) (score = 3), carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government.