Significant reduction in deaths by fire over five years. Image: @LondonFire

New figures show that fire deaths in the capital have been cut in half over the last five years.

The London Fire Brigade says: ‘Last year, 30 people sadly lost their lives to fire – the lowest figure this millennium – compared with 59 in 2010/11.’

Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said:

Halving fire deaths over five years, and for recorded fires to be at their lowest since records began, is a fantastic achievement.

Fire stations and fire engines do not stop fires happening; proactive prevention work and a vigilant population does. The figures are a credit to firefighters, fire engineers, fire investigators, community safety specialists and many other staff who have made huge progress in educating people about the importance of fire safety.

Every fire death is a tragedy and we will never become complacent as so many could have been avoided and we will continue to target those most at risk to further reduce the impacts of fire in the capital.

Last year, we visited 87,000 homes in London to undertake home fire safety visits. It’s this grassroots work to target those most at risk from fire that has helped make London safer than ever.

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Other statistics show in the last five years that:

• The number of incidents has fallen to 95,712 – down 22 per cent
• Calls to the Brigade fell to 171,682 – down 21 per cent
• Serious injuries from fires are down to 593 – a 29 per cent reduction

These new figures are the first yearly statistics to be released since the closure of 10 fire stations and the removal of 14 fire engines in January 2014.