Fire statistics: Incident level datasets
Source: data.gov.uk (2017-09-28)

This information covers fires, false alarms and other incidents attended by firecrews, and the statistics include the numbers of incidents, fires, fatalities and casualties as well as information on response times to fires. The Home Office also collect information on the workforce, fire prevention work, health and safety and firefighter pensions. All data tables on fire statistics are below.

The Home Office has responsibility for fire services in England. The vast majority of data tables produced by the Home Office are for England but some (0101, 0103, 0201, 0501, 1401) tables are for Great Britain split by nation. In the past the Department for Communities and Local Government (who previously had responsibility for fire services in England) produced data tables for Great Britain and at times the UK. Similar information for devolved administrations are available at Scotland: Fire and Rescue Statistics, Wales: Community safety and Northern Ireland: Fire and Rescue Statistics (see Landing page for links).

Publishing Incident Recording 
System data on the fire and rescue 
service at an incident level:  
 
Road vehicle fires dataset guidance 
 
 
 
 
 
Produced by the Fire Statistics team 
xxx@xxx.xx 
21 September 2017
 

 
2 
 
1  Background 
Data Quality 
Incident records in the Incident Recording System (IRS) are the responsibility of, and 
quality assured by, fire and rescue services (FRSs). The Home Office and FRSs 
work together to improve the data within the IRS and minimise any inconsistencies or 
errors. However, as the IRS was not designed with record level datasets in mind, a 
very small number of previously unidentified inconsistencies have been discovered 
(see project overview for further detail). 
IRS incident records are a judgement call of the lead fire officer at the time of the 
incident. The quality of the information provided by fire and rescue services is 
variable and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed, especially at record level. For 
instance, some records involve estimation by those in attendance. 
 
Dataset rationale 
When surveyed, interested parties said that the most important topic to them was 
knowing the “type of building a fire occurred in” through the release of open data. We 
have reflected this by publishing a dwellings dataset in ‘Tranche One’ and ‘other 
buildings’ and road vehicles datasets in ‘Tranche Two’. Although vehicles aren’t a 
building, fires in them are considered primary fires and so it seemed the natural next 
step. Also common FOIs regarding the make of road vehicle can be answered by 
referring to this dataset. The Home Office has, and will continue to, engaged with 
stakeholders such as statistical users and FRSs, to gauge opinion on the most useful 
datasets to publish. 
 
Dataset definition 
The road vehicle fires dataset covers incidents attended by FRSs that were primary 
road vehicle fires in England. The Home Office only has jurisdiction for fire policy in 
England, and therefore has published incident data for England only. 
A road vehicle is any vehicle designed for road use. 
Fires in derelict road vehicles are only included if they are considered to be a primary 
fire (i.e. the fire involved a fatality, casualty or rescue or the fire was attended by five 
or more pumping appliances).    
Derelict road vehicles are defined as those unfit for further use; awaiting demolition 
or under demolition. These records, when aggregated, also match the published 
statistics as derelict road vehicles are not included in the road vehicles statistics. 
The data in this dataset are consistent with records that reached the IRS by 7th June 
2017. 
 
 

 
3 
 
2 Variable by variable – Scene Setting 
Variable Name: 
FRS_FULLNAME 
Variable Description: 
The FRS in which the vehicle fire took place 
IRS Question: 
1.6 
 
The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) refers to the territory in which the incident took 
place, not necessarily the FRS which responded. Occasionally, an FRS will respond 
to an incident “over the border”. Because of this, users should be careful about 
making general comments about particular FRSs as some incidents may have been 
responded to by other FRSs. This dataset only covers incidents that took place in 
England. 
Due to data protection issues we have merged Isles of Scilly data with Cornwall, as 
the number of road vehicle fires in Isle of Scilly is minimal [there were 11 between 
2010/11 and 2016/17]. Figures for Dorset and Wiltshire, who merged into one FRS 
on 1st April 2016, are presented merged. 
 
Variable Name: 
E_CODE 
Variable Description: 
The E Code of the FRS 
IRS Question: 
1.6 (based on) 
 
The standard National Statistics code (E Code) of the Fire and Rescue Service 
(FRS) in FRS_NAME. In this case the code for Cornwall has been used for the 
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly combined FRS. 
 
Variable Name: 
FINANCIAL_YEAR 
Variable Description: 
The financial year the road vehicle fire took place 
IRS Question: 
2.1 (based on) 
 
A financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Record level information is published 
from 2010/11 - although the IRS began in April 2009 there are a few minor issues 
with the 2009/10 records, which mean that while statistics at higher levels are robust, 
some of the incident level records are not of a sufficient quality to publish. Incidents 
are allocated to a financial year depending on the time of the call, which is usually 
collected through automatic systems. So, for example, an incident where the call was 
made at 23.59 on March 31st 2010 but the incident was closed at 01.34 on April 1st 
2010 would be allocated to 2009/10 not 2010/11. 
 
Variable Name: 
DAY_OF_WEEK 
Variable Description: 
Which day of the week the vehicle fire took place on 
IRS Question: 
2.1 (based on) 
 
Incidents are allocated to this variable depending on the time of the call, which is 
usually collected through automatic systems. 
 
 

 
4 
 
Variable Name: 
DAY_NIGHT 
Variable Description: 
Whether the incident took place in day or night 
IRS Question: 
2.1 (based on) 
 
Incidents are allocated to this variable depending on the time of the call, which is 
usually collected through automatic systems. Night is defined as starting at 6pm and 
running until 6am. 
 

 
5 
 
3 
Variable by variable - Situation  
Variable Name: 
VEHICLE_TYPE 
Variable Description: 
The type of vehicle the fire was in 
IRS Question: 
3.2 
 
The road vehicle fires dataset only covers primary fires. This excludes derelict 
vehicles unless five or more pumping appliances attended the incident or it resulted 
in a fatality, casualty or rescue. One option is “Multiple vehicles”. 
 
Variable Name: 
RTC_MARKER 
Variable Description: 
Was the incident also a Road Traffic Collision 
IRS Question: 
5.22 
 
This variable has two options, “yes” or “no”, and is a judgement call made at the 
time. 
 
Variable Name: 
REPORTED_MISSING 
Variable Description: 
Whether the vehicle been reported missing to the police 
IRS Question: 
8.33 
 
This variable has three options, “yes”, “don’t know” or “no”, and is a judgement call 
made at the time. 
 
Variable Name: 
APPEARED_ABANDONED 
Variable Description: 
Whether the vehicle appear to be abandoned 
IRS Question: 
8.34 
 
This variable has three options, “yes”, “don’t know” or “no”, and is a judgement call 
made at the time. 
A road vehicle is generally deemed to have been abandoned if it is found in a place 
where the true owner likely intended to leave it, but is in such a condition that it is 
apparent that the true owner has no intention of returning to claim the item. 
 
Variable Name: 
VMM_CODE 
Variable Description: 
The four letter code of the make/model of the road vehicle. 
IRS Question: 
Based on 8.2 
 
This variable is the four letter code for the make and/or model of the faulty appliance 
or equipment that was the source of ignition for the fire. The question from the IRS 
that this variable is based on is only asked when the cause of fire was recorded as a 
piece of faulty appliance or equipment or a faulty lead to that appliance or 
equipment. It is a free text box, so this has been converted into a usable format for 
this exercise. The question is not mandatory and in some cases the make/model 
would not be identifiable by FRSs. The quality and extent of the make/model 

 
6 
 
information provided by FRSs is variable and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. 
Recorded incidents do not include judgments on whether the cause of the incident 
related to the make/model (either its manufacture or maintenance), other 
circumstances or a combination of those factors. This information should not, 
therefore, be used in isolation to make judgments about the safety of particular 
makes/models.  
 
Variable Name: 
VMM_FULLNAME 
Variable Description: 
The full name of the make/model of the road vehicle. 
IRS Question: 
Based on 8.2 
 
This variable is the full name for the make and/or model of the faulty appliance or 
equipment that was the source of ignition for the fire. The question from the IRS that 
this variable is based on is only asked when the cause of fire was recorded as a 
piece of faulty appliance or equipment or a faulty lead to that appliance or 
equipment. It is a free text box, so this has been converted into a usable format for 
this exercise. The question is not mandatory and in some cases the make/model 
would not be identifiable by FRSs. The quality and extent of the make/model 
information provided by FRSs is variable and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. 
Recorded incidents do not include judgments on whether the cause of the incident 
related to the make/model (either its manufacture or maintenance), other 
circumstances or a combination of those factors. This information should not, 
therefore, be used in isolation to make judgments about the safety of particular 
makes/models. 
 
Variable Name: 
IGNITION_TO_DISCOVERY 
Variable Description: 
The time between ignition and discovery 
IRS Question: 
5.2 
 
This is the approximate time elapsed from the ignition of the fire to its discovery, and 
may well be estimated. 
When the road vehicle fire spreads from a secondary fire, the time is based on the 
estimated start of first damage to the road vehicle. For example, if a rubbish bin fire 
(secondary) spreads to a road vehicle (primary) the time recorded is the estimated 
time from ignition of the house to discovery NOT ignition of the bin to discovery. 
 
Variable Name: 
DISCOVERY_TO_CALL 
Variable Description: 
The time between discovery and call. 
IRS Question: 
5.3  
 
This is the approximate time elapsed from the discovery of the fire to when the call 
was made to the emergency services, and may well be estimated (FRSs are asked 
to provide an estimate if at all possible). 
 
 

 
7 
 
Variable Name: 
LATE_CALL 
Variable Description: 
Whether the incident was a late call 
IRS Question: 
2.4 
 
A late call is where a fire is known to be extinguished when the call was made.  
It should be stressed that a fire that is ‘out on arrival’ (for example, extinguished 
before the FRS arrived) does not constitute a ‘late fire call’. A fire which comes to the 
attention of the FRS to which no call was made, for example as a result of a press 
report or inquest, is reported as a late call if an attendance is made (even if one 
person attends for inspection only) but is not included if no attendance is made. 
 
 
 
 

 
8 
 
4 
Variable by variable – The Fire 
 
A deliberate fire is a fire believed to have been started deliberately such as 
suspected arson and some fires started by children, psychiatric patients, suicides 
and attempted suicides. Accidental fires includes those where the motive was 
recorded as “not known”. Whilst we would not expect the fires for “deliberate fires” to 
match precisely the published figures for arson in the Bulletin tables from the Crime 
in England and Wales statistical release, we would expect deliberate fires for 
dwellings, other buildings and vehicles to be similar to the arson figures. 
 
 
This variable contains options that best describe the main cause of the fire. FRSs are 
not necessarily certain that the fire was due to the cause given, only that the cause 
was one that could be reasonably supposed, given the evidence available. The 
cause may change as more evidence through a fire investigation becomes available. 
 
 
This variable contains options that best describe the compartment where the fire 
started. 
 
 
This variable contains options that best describe of the extent of the fire when the 
first fire crew arrived. 
 
Variable Name: 
ITEM_IGNITED 
Variable Description: 
The item/material that was ignited first 
IRS Question: 
8.6 
 
This variable contains options that best (or most likely) describe the item first ignited. 
The item cannot be the same as the source of ignition and doesn’t include items that 
Variable Name: 
ACCIDENTAL_OR_DELIBERATE 
Variable Description: 
Whether the incident was recorded as an accidental or 
deliberate fire 
IRS Question: 
5.15 
Variable Name: 
CAUSE_OF_FIRE 
Variable Description: 
The main cause of the fire 
IRS Question: 
8.1 
Variable Name: 
FIRE_START_LOCATION 
Variable Description: 
The type of compartment the fire started in 
IRS Question: 
8.14 
Variable Name: 
FIRE_SIZE_ON_ARRIVAL 
Variable Description: 
The extent of fire on the FRS’s arrival 
IRS Question: 
8.20 

 
9 
 
were ignited in the normal course of events (for example a cigarette, a match etc.) 
 
If the fire was a spread from a secondary fire, the primary location that was damaged 
first should be recorded, for example if the source of ignition was a bonfire burning 
leaves which spread to the road vehicle, then the item first ignited was the road 
vehicle, not the waste leaves on the bonfire. 
 
Variable Name: 
ITEM_CAUSING_SPREAD 
Variable Description: 
The item/material that was mainly responsible for the 
spread of the fire 
IRS Question: 
8.7 
 
This variable contains options that best (or most likely) describe the item mainly 
responsible for causing the spread of the fire. 
 
Variable Name: 
RAPID_FIRE_GROWTH 
Variable Description: 
Whether there was rapid fire growth 
IRS Question: 
8.8 
 
Whether there was rapid fire growth or not. 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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5 
Variable by Variable - Resourcing 
Variable Name: 
VEHICLES 
Variable Description: 
The number of fire service vehicles that attended the 
incident 
IRS Question: 
6.2 
 
The total number of FRS vehicles that attended the incident. This includes all types 
of vehicle, for example hazardous materials units, fire boats and canteen vans would 
be included in this total. Large numbers are grouped for ease of use and to reduce 
the personal data risk of incidents being matched across datasets.  For example 
there is likely to be few incidents attended by 147 officers and this could be matched 
to other datasets containing this variable but grouping these in the “40 or more” 
grouping makes this impossible. 
 
Variable Name: 
VEHICLES_CODE 
Variable Description: 
A code to help users analyse data 
IRS Question: 
6.2 
 
Because some of the options in the vehicles variable contains letters (e.g. 15 or 
more) this code has been added after feedback from users to aid analysis. 
 
 
The number of FRS personnel that attended the incident on fire service appliances 
or by other means (e.g. their own vehicle, on foot). Large numbers of personnel are 
grouped for ease of use and to reduce the personal data risk of incidents being 
matched across datasets. 
 
Variable Name: 
OFFICERS_CODE 
Variable Description: 
A code to help users analyse data 
IRS Question: 
6.2 
 
Because some of the options in the officers variable contains letters (e.g. 40 or more) 
this code has been added after feedback from users to aid analysis. 
 
Variable Name: 
RESPONSE_TIME 
Variable Description: 
The time between the call being made and the first fire 
vehicle attending the scene 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 2.1 and 6.8 
 
The time of the call is defined as when first call was received to Command & Control. 
Variable Name: 
OFFICERS 
Variable Description: 
The number of fire crew and officers that attended the 
incident 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 6.1 and 6.4 

 
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If the call was received by one FRS and relayed to another, then the time of the call 
to the first FRS is used. Both of these variables are usually collected through 
automatic systems. 
 
Variable Name: 
RESPONSE_TIME_CODE 
Variable Description: 
A code to help users analyse data 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 2.1 and 6.8 
 
Because all of the options in the response time variable contains letters (e.g. 1-2 
mins) this code has been added after feedback from users to aid analysis. 
 
Variable Name: 
TIME_AT_SCENE 
Variable Description: 
The time between the first fire vehicle attending the scene 
and the incident being closed. 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 6.8 and 2.6 
 
An incident is closed when the last FRS appliance, vehicle or officer left the scene of 
the incident. Both of these variables are usually collected through automatic 
systems. 
 
Variable Name: 
TIME_AT_SCENE _CODE 
Variable Description: 
A code to help users analyse data 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 6.8 and 2.6 
 
Because all of the options in the time at scene variable contains letters (e.g. 0-15 
mins) this code has been added after feedback from users to aid analysis. 
 
 
 
 
 

 
12 
 
6 
Variable by Variable - Outcomes 
Variable Name: 
FATALITY_CASUALTY 
Variable Description: 
Whether the incident involved a fatality or casualty 
IRS Question: 
Combination of 9.6 and 9.21 
 
This records whether the incident involved at least one fire-related fatality or one 
casualty from the fire. At this early stage of publishing this incident level dataset 
gives no more detailed information on casualties and fatalities. 
 
To be consistent with published statistics the variable combines “fire related fatality” 
and “casualty in the fire” (whether fire-related or not). Where “don’t know” is recorded 
for whether a fatality is fire-related, it is included in the fire-related totals. In general, 
‘fire-related fatalities’ are those that would not have occurred had there not been a 
fire. Casualties include those with injuries requiring hospital attention, those requiring 
first aid at the scene and those given advice to have precautionary checks (whether 
they then take that advice or not). 
 
Variable Name: 
RESCUES 
Variable Description: 
The number of people rescued from the road vehicle 
IRS Question: 
9.13 
 
A rescue is where a person has received physical assistance to get clear of the area 
involved in the incident. A baby carried out in the course of another person’s escape 
is not included as a rescue, however if a rescuer (including FRS personnel) entered 
the building or other area affected by the fire in order to rescue the baby, then the 
baby is recorded as a rescue.  
A removal of a fatality is not recorded as a rescue, except where a rescue took place 
in circumstances which might have resulted in a life being saved even if the person 
did not survive the rescue attempt.  
Where “don’t know” is recorded for whether a rescue occurred, it is not included in 
this variable. 
 
Variable Name: 
EVACUATIONS 
Variable Description: 
The number of people evacuated from the dwelling 
IRS Question: 
9.3 
 
An evacuation is ‘the direction of people from a dangerous place to somewhere 
safe’. This variable is the number of people who were evacuated from the incident 
unharmed, but with assistance from FRS personnel. Those who are rescued or 
rescued with an injury are not included in those that are evacuated from the incident. 
Rescues involve physical assistance. 
 
 

 
13 
 
Variable Name: 
EVACUATIONS _CODE 
Variable Description: 
A code to help users analyse data 
IRS Question: 
9.3 
 
Because all of the options in the time at scene variable contains letters (e.g. Up to 5) 
this code has been added after feedback from users to aid analysis. 
 
 
This variable contains options that best describe the extent of the fire when the 
incident ended. This only includes flame and heat damage, it does not include 
damage by smoke or water (for example). Where more than one area of the road 
vehicle is damaged it is recorded as the “whole vehicle” option. 
 
 
 
 
 
Variable Name: 
DAMAGE_RESTRICTED_TO_DESCRIPTION 
Variable Description: 
The extent of flame and heat damage at the end of the 
incident 
IRS Question: 
8.22 

 
14 
 
7 
Summary Statistics 
The number of road vehicle fires in England decreased by 15 per cent between 
2010/11 and 2016/17. The table below shows the number of road vehicle by FRS 
over the time covered by this release. 
 
 
 
FRS_NAME
E_CODE
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
2016/17
England
E92000001
27,727 23,846 20,316 19,649 19,473 20,854 23,505
Avon
E31000001
781
683
582
481
521
603
653
Bedfordshire
E31000002
408
277
282
328
339
326
338
Berkshire
E31000003
443
373
299
276
285
300
286
Buckinghamshire
E31000004
444
339
305
303
283
309
325
Cambridgeshire
E31000005
437
391
371
306
325
345
398
Cheshire
E31000006
510
418
401
372
293
283
347
Cleveland
E31000007
336
287
214
209
204
287
309
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly E31000008
252
257
205
214
198
234
230
Cumbria
E31000009
272
222
219
211
178
202
167
Derbyshire
E31000010
484
429
365
389
346
383
397
Devon and Somerset
E31000011
873
749
683
740
713
670
714
Dorset and Wiltshire
E31000047
633
560
527
528
462
477
492
Durham
E31000013
362
328
286
307
296
346
433
East Sussex
E31000014
364
307
335
280
234
244
254
Essex
E31000015
881
764
713
720
663
775
848
Gloucestershire
E31000016
336
276
229
255
241
222
245
Greater Manchester
E31000040
1,756
1,427
1,190
1,123
1,102
1,187
1,554
Hampshire
E31000017
787
738
535
513
568
573
554
Hereford and Worcester
E31000018
375
335
270
289
286
293
315
Hertfordshire
E31000019
510
438
341
371
402
363
408
Humberside
E31000020
593
432
354
403
389
436
516
Isle Of Wight
E31000021
44
34
51
42
28
32
37
Kent
E31000022
985
854
753
701
746
791
903
Lancashire
E31000023
646
549
477
468
482
509
564
Leicestershire
E31000024
505
457
385
385
433
477
459
Lincolnshire
E31000025
411
330
323
274
293
311
291
London
E31000046
2,729
2,447
1,985
1,908
1,990
1,995
2,349
Merseyside
E31000041
950
813
716
675
695
756
826
Norfolk
E31000026
475
354
315
284
294
322
354
North Yorkshire
E31000027
342
294
273
279
264
277
271
Northamptonshire
E31000028
455
464
385
329
347
389
417
Northumberland
E31000029
199
175
138
118
138
135
145
Nottinghamshire
E31000030
613
615
438
395
392
427
531
Oxfordshire
E31000031
320
298
260
234
222
205
235
Shropshire
E31000032
287
256
195
181
113
171
162
South Yorkshire
E31000042
1,032
825
755
728
671
781
935
Staffordshire
E31000033
605
514
432
404
365
369
444
Suffolk
E31000034
365
318
220
233
230
257
238
Surrey
E31000035
442
428
376
397
387
334
427
Tyne and Wear
E31000043
737
620
525
471
456
532
660
Warwickshire
E31000036
398
355
252
263
269
283
288
West Midlands
E31000044
1,525
1,294
1,016
1,081
1,100
1,189
1,435
West Sussex
E31000037
353
376
303
281
297
245
288
West Yorkshire
E31000045
1,472
1,146
1,037
900
933
1,209
1,463

 
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