Service thanks communities for keeping fire safe during lockdown

The reduction, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue says, is pleasing – with firefighters expecting a slight increase due to large amounts of people spending more time at home.

Latest figures show that crews attended 157 primary fire incidents across Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley, between 23 March and 23 April. This, when compared to the same time periods in recent years, is a reduction of 23 percent.

Primary fires involve traditional house fires as well as other insurable property such as commercial properties, vehicles and larger outbuildings.

This comes after the service launched a lockdown-specific safety campaign, Keep Fire Safe, on Saturday 21 March – just days before the Government’s instruction on staying home.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Tony Carlin, said: “The drop is down to the hard work of staff, as well as the public’s co-operation, during the on-going pandemic.

“At such a challenging time, when we expected to see a slight increase in incidents due to people spending so much more time at home, this is really welcome news.

“Our operational fire crews and dedicated fire safety teams have been working hard since lockdown began – making welfare calls to those who may be vulnerable, dropping smoke alarms off, engaging with businesses and more – and it’s clearly made a positive difference.

“This reduction in calls is also down to people across South Yorkshire who have taken on board our advice and taken steps to protect themselves, and their loved ones, from fire. They are our heroes right now and they have played their part so well.

“I’d like to thank them, and will also be thanking our staff, for their efforts. These are tough times for us all but we will get through it together, and I’d urge everyone to continue to follow Government advice during the lockdown.”

More information on the service’s latest campaign is available at www.syfire.gov.uk where you will find a safety quiz that gives entrants a chance to win one of two, £100 Amazon vouchers.