§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fires involving dangerous chemicals there were in 1981 and the first half of 1982; and if he will list the chemical involved.
§ Mr. MayhewThe information available for 1981 is given in the following table. It relates to the 140,000 fires attended by local authority fire brigades in the United Kingdom on which detailed reports were submitted; most outdoor fires, fires in derelict buildings and fires not attended by local authority fire brigades are not reported in detail. Information is not yet available for any part of 1982.
Fires involving dangerous substances; by substance* United Kingdom 1981 Number of fires Liquefied Petroleum gas 340 Acetylene 108 Mains gas 34 Other and unspecified gas 34 Petroleum 247 Diesel fuel, Paraffin 63 Oil and Paint 60 Other liquid chemicals 65 Mineral-based solids 105 Other and unspecified substances 45 Total 1,131 * Fires in which the dangerous substance affected the development of the fire or restricted the firefighting methods which could be used.