Baxter welcomes new report stating fires at five-year low
Figures showing that fires across Lochaber are at a fiveyear low have been welcomed by the chairman of the local Highland Council area committee.
Councillor Andrew Baxter (Fort William and Ardnamurchan) was commenting following the meeting earlier this month of Lochaber Area Committee, which he chairs.
On the agenda was a Scottish Fire and Rescue Area Committee Performance Report, providing an update to committee members on progress against the priorities outlined in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Area Committee Plan for Lochaber 2016-2019.
The report provided the current figures for the first two quarters of 2019 and from the previous four reporting years from the central SFRS performance management database against the key indicators and timelines from previous reports.
The report shows that accidental dwelling fires, fire fatalities and fire casualties remain very low in the area, with only three accidental dwelling fires in this reporting period, which is a five-year low when compared to the previous years.
Deliberate fires are slightly up on the same period in the previous year; however, the total number of incidents remain low for Lochaber in comparison to the Highland total.
False alarm incidents are similar to the previous year, with a spike of activity in June with 17 incidents.
Road traffic collisions remain consistent with previous years, although there has been a decrease in these incidents in the last quarter.
Mr Baxter said it had been great to hear fires are at a fiveyear low: ‘That doesn’t mean we should be complacent. The fire service plays a vital role in prevention. We are reliant on our retained firefighters in Lochaber to undertake this work,’ he added.