Fire Incident Statistics in England*

In the year ending June 2025, Fire and Rescue Services attended 628,764 incidents, representing a 5.7% increase from the previous year’s total of 594,836 incidents. During this period, there were 279 fire‑related fatalities across 255 fatal fires, compared with 231 fatalities in 218 fatal fires the previous year.

Over the past decade, the number of primary fires—those considered most serious or posing a threat to life or property—has continued its long-term downward trend. Primary fires fell from around 70,937 in 2014 to approximately 61,103 in 2024, one of the lowest levels recorded since comparable data began.

Primary fires accounted for approximately 38% of all fires in the year ending June 2025, based on 165,697 total fires and 61,103 primary fires. This represents a decrease from 47% in the year ending June 2024, reflecting the sharp rise in secondary fires during 2025. Over the longer term, the proportion of fires that are primary fires has continued to fluctuate, influenced by changes in weather‑related outdoor fires and year‑to‑year variations in total incident volumes.

In the year ending June 2025, detailed breakdowns for building fires (as a share of all incidents, all fires, and all primary fires) have not yet been published in the same format as previous years. However, the most recent full dataset (year ending June 2024) recorded 38,189 building fires, representing 6.4% of all incidents, 29% of all fires, and 63% of all primary fires. This distribution has remained broadly consistent over the past decade; for example, in the year ending June 2014, building fires made up 9.2% of all incidents, 29% of all fires, and 66% of all primary fires.

Fire false alarms attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England have continued their recent upward trend. After reaching a low of around 214,000 in the year ending June 2021, numbers have risen steadily. In the year ending June 2025, fire services attended approximately 263,000 fire false alarms, based on the latest Home Office dataset (FIRE0102). This represents a further increase from the 256,000 recorded in the year ending June 2024 and is now the highest level in more than a decade, exceeding all annual totals since the year ending June 2011.

This rise follows the temporary reductions seen during the COVID‑19 pandemic period, when building occupancy patterns and system activations were atypically low. Since then, false alarms—particularly those caused by automatic fire detection systems—have returned to pre‑pandemic levels and continued to climb.

*Statistics are sourced from the Home Office’s online Incident Recording System (IRS) and include statistics on all incidents, fire-related fatalities, casualties from fires and response times to fires.

These trends highlight the essential role of reliable fire detection and alarm systems in reducing risk and protecting buildings. To learn how the right fire alarm system can support your fire‑safety responsibilities, visit our Fire Alarm Systems page or contact our support team by email or directly on 01895 200 200.