Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 17/04/2009 16:07

Cornwall fire service is welcoming a reduction in the number of accidental fires in homes across Cornwall over the past twelve months. There were also no deaths from fires in homes over the same period.

During 2008 / 2009 there were 259 accidental fires in homes across the county. This is a 13.6 % reduction on the figure for the previous year when there were 300 accidental fires in the home.

Welcoming the reduction, Acting Chief Fire Officer Terry Standing said this demonstrated the time and effort that the Fire Service had put into prevention work over the past few years.

“Better fire prevention which tackles the cause rather than the effect of fire is key to bringing down the number of accidental fires and fire deaths” he said.

Over the past year officers from Cornwall fire service have carried out 6,200 home fire safety checks. This work, which also involved the Council’s directorate of adult care and support, involved talking to people in their own homes about how to improve fire safety and resulted in 6,367 smoke alarms being fitted.

The service has also been involved in a number of national fire safety campaigns during the year, including Student Safety, Child Safety, National No Smoking Day and Kitchen Safety Week.

Officers are also working closely with primary and secondary schools across the county to raise awareness of fire safety issues among children and young people. This work includes visits by dedicated Community Fire Safety Advisors to primary schools, and the successful Phoenix Project which works with young people between the ages of 13 and 17 years.

Ken Yeo, the Council’s Executive Member for Public Protection, adds “I am delighted with this reduction in accidental fires. I am sure that raising public awareness will help us sustain and reduce even further these incidents. “

“I would like to thank the firefighters and officers who hold open days on their stations when this message is reinforced by demonstrations that leave a lasting impression on the public attending.”

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Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=7275