While fire and rescue services across the UK attended fewer incidents last year, deliberate fires continue to waste valuable resources and put lives in danger.
Whilst the impact of lockdowns in 2021 will have depressed the number of deliberate cases, figures show that not only is arson the leading single cause of the fire but also highlight the extent to which the increasing threat of arson must be taken seriously.
To gain a true understanding of the number of fire incidents and deliberate fire injuries, Public Interest Lawyers set out to investigate.
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How We Conducted Our Research Into Fire Incidents And Injuries
We sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all UK fire and rescue services, asking how many primary and secondary fire incidents the service attended. (Broken down by years, 2019/2020, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24)
We also asked how many of these incidents were classed as deliberate fires and how many of these led to an injury over the same five-year period.
Statistics On Fire Incidents Broken Down By Area
Fire Rescue Services (FRSs) attended 600,324 incidents in the year ending March 2024, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the previous year (622,659).
Of these incidents, there were 138,977 fires, which was a decrease of 22% compared with the previous year (178,867).
Despite this positive drop in fires across the UK, a worrying percentage of these incidents are deliberate fires, which can lead to injuries and fatalities.
County Durham and Darlington
Fire incidents attended – County Durham and Darlington
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 3414 / 2645
2020/21 | 3330 / 2614
2021/22 | 4125 / 3394
2022/23 | 4771 / 3898
2023/24 | 3202 / 2597
Total | 18842 / 15148
Deliberate fire injuries – County Durham and Darlington
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 16
2020/21 | 12
2021/22 | 17
2022/23 | 18
2023/24 | 21
Total | 84
South Wales
Fire incidents attended – South Wales
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 5482 / 3796
2020/21 | 5481 / 3841
2021/22 | 5565 / 3960
2022/23 | 6031 / 4275
2023/24 | 5460 / 3732
Total | 28019 / 19604
Deliberate fire injuries – South Wales
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 22
2020/21 | 14
2021/22 | 19
2022/23 | 21
2023/24 | 19
Total | 95
Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire incidents attended – Hampshire and Isle of Wight
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 4132 / 1462
2020/21 | 4231 / 1515
2021/22 | 3918 / 1446
2022/23 | 4754 / 1683
2023/24 | 3517 / 1246
Total | 20552 / 7352
Deliberate fire injuries – Hampshire and Isle of Wight
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 20
2020/21 | 20
2021/22 | 41
2022/23 | 18
2023/24 | 7
Total | 106
Mid and West Wales
Fire incidents attended – Mid and West Wales
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 3101 / 1551
2020/21 | 3026 / 1555
2021/22 | 3221 / 1618
2022/23 | 2954 / 1406
2023/24 | 2531 / 1134
Total | 14833 / 7264
Deliberate fire injuries – Mid and West Wales
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 9
2020/21 | 6
2021/22 | 6
2022/23 | 9
2023/24 | 17
Total | 47
Northern Ireland
Fire incidents attended – Northern Ireland
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 6859 / 4837
2020/21 | 7681 / 5542
2021/22 | 7849 / 5625
2022/23 | 6246 / 4316
2023/24 | 5434 / 3400
Total | 34069 / 23720
Deliberate fire injuries – Northern Ireland
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 80
2020/21 | 50
2021/22 | 67
2022/23 | 49
2023/24 | 44
Total | 290
Hereford and Worcester
Fire incidents attended – Hereford and Worcester
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1617 / 425
2020/21 | 1568 / 458
2021/22 | 1555 / 495
2022/23 | 1903 / 625
2023/24 | 1421 / 394
Total | 8064 / 2397
Deliberate fire injuries – Hereford and Worcester
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 17
2020/21 | 12
2021/22 | 7
2022/23 | 14
2023/24 | 8
Total | 58
Humberside
Fire incidents attended – Humberside
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 3872 / 2551
2020/21 | 3273 / 1927
2021/22 | 3906 / 2590
2022/23 | 4662 / 3195
2023/24 | 3066 / 1964
Total | 18779 / 12227
Deliberate fire injuries – Humberside
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 24
2020/21 | 27
2021/22 | 24
2022/23 | 19
2023/24 | 23
Total | 117
North Wales
Fire incidents attended – North Wales
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1806 / 653
2020/21 | 1616 / 448
2021/22 | 1762 / 472
2022/23 | 1893 / 519
2023/24 | 1573 / 468
Total | 8650 / 2560
Deliberate fire injuries – North Wales
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 14
2020/21 | 6
2021/22 | 8
2022/23 | 8
2023/24 | 5
Total | 41
Cheshire
Fire incidents attended – Cheshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 8139 / 928
2020/21 | 7974 / 796
2021/22 | 8270 / 892
2022/23 | 8607 / 1092
2023/24 | 8407 / 822
Total | 41397 / 4530
Deliberate fire injuries – Cheshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 15
2020/21 | 14
2021/22 | 15
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 7
Total | 58
Gloucestershire
Fire incidents attended – Gloucestershire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1242 / 360
2020/21 | 1220 / 330
2021/22 | 1303 / 384
2022/23 | 1473 / 394
2023/24 | 1190 / 277
Total | 6428 / 1745
Deliberate fire injuries – Gloucestershire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 4
2020/21 | 6
2021/22 | 8
2022/23 | 10
2023/24 | 9
Total | 37
Leicestershire
Fire incidents attended – Leicestershire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 2003 / 762
2020/21 | 1904 / 642
2021/22 | 1912 / 698
2022/23 | 2597 / 1067
2023/24 | 2048 / 865
Total | 10464 / 4034
Deliberate fire injuries – Leicestershire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 6
2020/21 | 9
2021/22 | 9
2022/23 | 10
2023/24 | 18
Total | 52
West Yorkshire
Fire incidents attended – West Yorkshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 8905 / 5475
2020/21 | 9166 / 5647
2021/22 | 9107 / 5654
2022/23 | 10912 / 6593
2023/24 | 8739 / 5087
Total | 46829 / 28456
Deliberate fire injuries – West Yorkshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 67
2020/21 | 57
2021/22 | 52
2022/23 | 53
2023/24 | 57
Total | 287
South Yorkshire
Fire incidents attended – South Yorkshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 5916 / 4243
2020/21 | 6009 / 4046
2021/22 | 6589 / 4593
2022/23 | 7985 / 5702
2023/24 | 5674 / 4054
Total | 32173 / 22638
Deliberate fire injuries – South Yorkshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 37
2020/21 | 41
2021/22 | 26
2022/23 | 26
2023/24 | 33
Total | 163
Suffolk
Fire incidents attended – Suffolk
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1690 / 464
2020/21 | 1779 / 451
2021/22 | 1491 / 350
2022/23 | 2069 / 494
2023/24 | 1472 / 390
Total | 8501 / 2149
Deliberate fire injuries – Suffolk
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 20
2020/21 | 12
2021/22 | 7
2022/23 | 14
2023/24 | 16
Total | 69
West Midlands
Fire incidents attended – West Midlands
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 4495 / 2901
2020/21 | 5897 / 3054
2021/22 | 5121 / 2947
2022/23 | 6940 / 4038
2023/24 | 5149 / 3102
Total | 27602 / 16042
London
Fire incidents attended – London
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 17993 / 2894
2020/21 | 17409 / 2604
2021/22 | 14929 / 2214
2022/23 | 19298 / 2379
2023/24 | 16120 / 2205
Total | 85749 / 12296
Deliberate fire injuries – London
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 99
2020/21 | 96
2021/22 | 111
2022/23 | 106
2023/24 | 120
Total | 532
Lincolnshire
Fire incidents attended – Lincolnshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 10033 / 409
2020/21 | 8031 / 414
2021/22 | 8035 / 446
2022/23 | 7677 / 604
2023/24 | 6716 / 421
Total | 40492 / 2294
Deliberate fire injuries – Lincolnshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 11
2020/21 | 14
2021/22 | 16
2022/23 | 13
2023/24 | 26
Total | 79
Avon
Fire incidents attended – Avon
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 12021 / 1336
2020/21 | 9054 / 1202
2021/22 | 10259 / 1349
2022/23 | 11403 / 1578
2023/24 | 11301 / 1401
Total | 54038 / 6866
Cleveland
Fire incidents attended – Cleveland
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 8582 / 3723
2020/21 | 7737 / 3202
2021/22 | 9872 / 4537
2022/23 | 10535 / 4853
2023/24 | 8614 / 3230
Total | 45340 / 19545
Cambridgeshire
Fire incidents attended – Cambridgeshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1968 / 710
2020/21 | 1698 / 474
2021/22 | 1842 / 552
2022/23 | 2235 / 590
2023/24 | 1644 / 473
Total | 9387 / 2799
Deliberate fire injuries – Cambridgeshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 8
2020/21 | 1
2021/22 | 3
2022/23 | 1
2023/24 | 12
Total | 25
Lancashire
Fire incidents attended – Lancashire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 4939 / 2265
2020/21 | 5133 / 1832
2021/22 | 5318 / 1938
2022/23 | 5557 / 2293
2023/24 | 4607 / 1811
Total | 25554 / 10139
Deliberate fire injuries – Lancashire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 75
2020/21 | 43
2021/22 | 50
2022/23 | 37
2023/24 | 55
Total | 260
Sussex
Fire incidents attended – Sussex
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1869 / 743
2020/21 | 1883 / 739
2021/22 | 1771 / 664
2022/23 | 1905 / 725
2023/24 | 1687 / 669
Total | 15817 / 4294
Deliberate fire injuries – Sussex
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 15
2020/21 | 9
2021/22 | 4
2022/23 | 4
2023/24 | 8
Total | 40
Cumbria
Fire incidents attended – Cumbria
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1443 / 538
2020/21 | 1455 / 542
2021/22 | 1603 / 673
2022/23 | 1270 / 467
2023/24 | 1278 / 487
Total | 7049 / 2707
Deliberate fire injuries – Cumbria
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 3
2020/21 | 7
2021/22 | 3
2022/23 | 3
2023/24 | 4
Total | 20
Berkshire
Fire incidents attended – Berkshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1742 / 432
2020/21 | 1704 / 395
2021/22 | 1544 / 329
2022/23 | 2029 / 399
2023/24 | 1461 / 286
Total | 8460 / 1841
Deliberate fire injuries – Berkshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 7
2020/21 | 5
2021/22 | 8
2022/23 | 5
2023/24 | 6
Total | 31
Dorset and Wiltshire
Fire incidents attended – Dorset & Wiltshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 3253 / 992
2020/21 | 3354 / 776
2021/22 | 3026 / 744
2022/23 | 3393 / 931
2023/24 | 2791 / 851
Total | 15817 / 4294
Deliberate fire injuries – Dorset & Wiltshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 5
2020/21 | 4
2021/22 | 3
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 6
Total | 25
Kent
Fire incidents attended – Kent
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 4141 / 1738
2020/21 | 4439 / 1698
2021/22 | 3673 / 1465
2022/23 | 5176 / 2017
2023/24 | 3853 / 1560
Total | 21282 / 8478
Deliberate fire injuries – Kent
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 39
2020/21 | 37
2021/22 | 27
2022/23 | 36
2023/24 | 37
Total | 176
Warwickshire
Fire incidents attended – Warwickshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1230 / 437
2020/21 | 1049 / 320
2021/22 | 1032 / 279
2022/23 | 1550 / 480
2023/24 | 1121 / 292
Total | 5982 / 1808
Deliberate fire injuries – Warwickshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 3
2020/21 | 3
2021/22 | 7
2022/23 | 3
2023/24 | 1
Total | 17
Oxfordshire
Fire incidents attended – Oxfordshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1435 / 517
2020/21 | 1302 / 458
2021/22 | 1266 / 437
2022/23 | 1511 / 534
2023/24 | 1183 / 370
Total | 6697 / 2316
Deliberate fire injuries – Oxfordshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 7
2020/21 | 6
2021/22 | 9
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 10
Total | 39
Merseyside
Fire incidents attended – Merseyside
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 5638 / 3445
2020/21 | 6142 / 3483
2021/22 | 6920 / 3950
2022/23 | 7118 / 3771
2023/24 | 5363 / 2818
Total | 31181 / 17467
Deliberate fire injuries – Merseyside
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 13
2020/21 | 14
2021/22 | 11
2022/23 | 12
2023/24 | 13
Total | 63
Devon and Somerset
Fire incidents attended – Devon and Somerset
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 15743 / 1424
2020/21 | 14620 / 1202
2021/22 | 16609 / 1219
2022/23 | 17876 / 1413
2023/24 | 17808 / 1098
Total | 82656 / 6356
Deliberate fire injuries – Devon and Somerset
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 46
2020/21 | 22
2021/22 | 27
2022/23 | 18
2023/24 | 34
Total | 147
Norfolk
Fire incidents attended – Norfolk
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 2169 / 784
2020/21 | 1950 / 640
2021/22 | 1810 / 645
2022/23 | 2596 / 943
2023/24 | 1839 / 622
Total | 10364 / 3634
Deliberate fire injuries – Norfolk
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 0
2020/21 | 2
2021/22 | 2
2022/23 | 1
2023/24 | 1
Total | 6
Nottinghamshire
Fire incidents attended – Nottinghamshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 3049 / 1520
2020/21 | 2886 / 1410
2021/22 | 3352 / 1666
2022/23 | 3983 / 1970
2023/24 | 2774 / 1342
Total | 16044 / 7908
Shropshire
Fire incidents attended – Shropshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1118 / 426
2020/21 | 1099 / 318
2021/22 | 1020 / 306
2022/23 | 1117 / 285
2023/24 | 1022 / 271
Total | 5376 / 1606
Deliberate fire injuries – Shropshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 5
2020/21 | 3
2021/22 | 21
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 12
Total | 48
Surrey
Fire incidents attended – Surrey
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 2353 / 737
2020/21 | 2523 / 663
2021/22 | 2078 / 537
2022/23 | 2398 / 552
2023/24 | 1931 / 414
Total | 11283 / 2903
Deliberate fire injuries – Surrey
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 26
2020/21 | 5
2021/22 | 9
2022/23 | 15
2023/24 | 17
Total | 72
Cornwall
Fire incidents attended – Cornwall
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1385 / 343
2020/21 | 1194 / 262
2021/22 | 1382 / 317
2022/23 | 1423 / 379
2023/24 | 1160 / 258
Total | 6544 / 1559
Deliberate fire injuries – Cornwall
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 3
2020/21 | 4
2021/22 | 3
2022/23 | 6
2023/24 | 3
Total | 19
Greater Manchester
Fire incidents attended – Greater Manchester
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2020/21 | 10465 / 6834
2021/22 | 10570 / 6692
2022/23 | 10690 / 6980
2023/24 | 9019 / 5436
2024/25 | 6232 / 3773
Total | 46976 / 29715
Deliberate fire injuries – Greater Manchester
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2020/21 | 68
2021/22 | 81
2022/23 | 86
2023/24 | 73
2024/25 | 56
Total | 364
Staffordshire
Fire incidents attended – Staffordshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 2942 / 1500
2020/21 | 3080 / 1544
2021/22 | 2917 / 1552
2022/23 | 3524 / 1843
2023/24 | 2918 / 1556
Total | 15381 / 7995
Deliberate fire injuries – Staffordshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 35
2020/21 | 27
2021/22 | 24
2022/23 | 17
2023/24| 24
Total | 127
Northamptonshire
Fire incidents attended – Northamptonshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1702 / 719
2020/21 | 1482 / 526
2021/22 | 1645 / 689
2022/23 | 2079 / 870
2023/24 | 1739 / 718
Total | 8647 / 3522
Deliberate fire injuries – Northamptonshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 2
2020/21 | 11
2021/22 | 6
2022/23 | 6
2023/24 | 3
Total | 28
Derbyshire
Fire incidents attended – Derbyshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 2050 / 871
2020/21 | 2226 / 786
2021/22 | 2344 / 981
2022/23 | 2695 / 1195
2023/24 | 2111 / 803
Total | 11426 / 4636
Deliberate fire injuries – Derbyshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 23
2020/21 | 12
2021/22 | 14
2022/23 | 10
2023/24 | 6
Total | 65
Bedfordshire
Fire incidents attended – Bedfordshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2019/20 | 1869 / 697
2020/21 | 1599 / 431
2021/22 | 1579 / 564
2022/23 | 2117 / 754
2023/24 | 1521 / 520
Total | 8685 / 2966
Deliberate fire injuries – Bedfordshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2019/20 | 8
2020/21 | 4
2021/22 | 1
2022/23 | 4
2023/24 | 5
Total | 22
North Yorkshire
Fire incidents attended – North Yorkshire
No. of primary + secondary/deliberate fires attended:
2020 | 1569 / 621
2021 | 1551 / 585
2022 | 2016 / 750
2023 | 1424 / 489
2024 | 1335 / 580
Total | 7895 / 3025
Deliberate fire injuries – North Yorkshire
No. of injuries caused by deliberate fires:
2020 | 4
2021 | 3
2022 | 7
2023 | 0
2024 | 2
Total | 16
