§ 80. Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenportasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent his records show that the number of domestic and other fires are increasing; whether each fire is investigated and its cause established; and whether he will consider instituting a propaganda campaign to draw the attention of the public to the need for more care.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerFrom 1952 to 1956, the number of fires, other than chimney fires, attended by brigades in the United Kingdom rose from 92,000 to 123,000, and fires in houses and flats from 22,000 to 24,000. All were investigated and reports, including the supposed cause, sent to the Joint Fire Research Organisation for analysis. A good deal of propaganda about the need for fire prevention is already undertaken by fire authorities, the Fire Prevention Association, the Home Office and other bodies; but my Department, and the others concerned, will lost no opportunity of emphasising that a little more care on everyone's part would reduce the growing number of fires.