HC Deb 30 April 2001 vol 367 cc524-5W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what percentage of cases where fire alarms were present in dwellings on fire in 1999, they(a) raised the alarm, (b) operated but failed to raise the alarm and (c) failed to operate altogether, in each fire authority area. [159770]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

The information requested (shown in the table) relates to the percentage of fires in dwellings where a smoke alarm was present and where the fire was attended by the local authority fire service.

Fires in dwellings by brigade and by presence and operation of smoke detectors, UK, 1999
Percentage of alarms present that
Total number of fires in dwellings Smoke alarm present Smoke alarm absent Operated and raised alarm Operated, but did not raised alarm Did not operate
Suffolk 555 286 269 56 13 32
Surrey 627 224 402 58 13 29
Warwickshire 401 98 303 67 14 18
West Sussex 658 239 420 55 12 33
Wiltshire 483 166 317 54 11 36
Isles of Scilly 1 0 1
England—Met Counties 27,510 8,425 19,085 68 9 23
Greater Manchester 5,121 1,465 3,655 61 12 27
Merseyside 3,019 913 2,106 69 9 23
South Yorkshire 1,433 313 1,121 69 11 20
Tyne and Wear 2,241 913 1,328 87 2 12
West Midlands 4,429 2,015 2,414 70 7 23
West Yorkshire 2,504 986 1,518 54 12 34
Greater London 8,763 1,820 6,944 68 12 20
Wales 3,322 1,496 1,826 62 11 27
North Wales 827 395 432 69 9 22
Mid and West Wales 1,030 472 557 66 11 23
South Wales 1,465 628 837 54 12 34
Northern Ireland 1,990 833 1,157 54 18 28
Scotland 9,411 4,762 4,650 56 9 35
Strathclyde 4,724 2,225 2,500 64 7 29
Highland and Islands 288 200 88 35 19 46
Grampian 883 590 294 63 8 28
Tayside 794 390 403 49 13 38
Lothian and Borders 1,804 896 908 42 12 46
Fife 437 188 248 53 15 32
Central 327 197 130 52 10 39
Dumfries 154 76 78 33 14 53

Notes:

1999 data are provisional and based on a sample of all incidents.

Including late call and heat and smoke damage incidents (not recorded prior to 1994).

Source:

Home Office Fire statistics

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