FIRE STATISTICS
Fire prevention inspections and pieces falling off buildings are among the non fire-related tasks
21.11.08 - 16:51 -
RESCUE. A team of fire fighters, during a simulation of a traffic accident. / CARLOS MORET
Over half of the work carried out by Malaga’s fire brigade is not directly related to fires. Of the 1,732 services provided by this fire-fighting force during the first five months of this year, 52.7% related to situations where fire played no part whatsoever.
However, it has not always been the case that the majority of the fire brigade’s services are unrelated to fires and technical officer Carlos Utrera puts this gradual reduction in the incidence of fires down to today’s increased focus on prevention. This is borne out by the fact that 28.22% of tasks which are unconnected with fires were carried out with the aim of preventing future fires or reducing the risks of the same.
Among the preventive services which are carried out by the fire brigade in Malaga are technical inspections of buildings. This type of inspection accounts for 12.4% of all the work it carries out which is unrelated to fire. Other such services include checking works licences and first occupancy licences. “Newly constructed buildings have to comply with a series of requirements to minimise fire damage and to facilitate the evacuation of people in case of fire or other incidents”, says Utrera.
Fire prevention also involves periodic checks on fire-fighting installations such as hydrants and these services account for 15.7% of those which are not a direct response to an alarm call in case of fire. Nevertheless, fire is not the only factor which sets off the preventive alarm of the fire fighting team. For example, in the first five months of this year the fire brigade in Malaga made 87 buildings safe after pieces of the structures fell off, and made sure that this would not occur again.
Apart from the preventive aspect of its work, the fire brigade is also frequently required to assist in other situations where there is no blaze to deal with. This part of the fire fighters’ work involves attending to the public, and it includes opening locked doors and dealing with fallen objects, both of which form 14.4% of services carried out which are not fire-related. The need for this type of service increases or decreases at certain times of year. For example, people are more likely to lock themselves out of their houses during holidays or when there is a local festival, while if objects such as street lamps or signs fall down this is normally due to bad weather.
The fire brigade also helps to rescue people in situations such as traffic accidents or floods, or when lifts break down, buildings collapse, or there are landslides. This type of incident forms seven per cent of non fire-related work .
In the first five months of this year, Malaga’s fire brigade was called out on average 20 times a month on false alarms. In the majority of cases, people called the fire fighters because they saw smoke coming from a neighbour’s home, but the fires had already been put out when the fire brigade arrived on the scene. In spite of this, Carlos Utrera insists that people should call for help if they suspect that there may be a fire. “It doesn’t matter how many calls we receive about the same incident, they help us to locate the fire and decide what resources we will need”, he stresses.
Arrested
On many occasions the fire brigade is called out because of a blaze in the public street. During the past six months Malaga’s Local Police force has arrested nine people for setting fire to rubbish containers and other items of council property.
Putting out fires in vehicles is another regular task for the fire fighters, as these account for 15.4% of calls. A further 14% relate to fires at residential properties, while fires in the countryside form 8.4% of cases. Another 3.06% of calls are related to fires in electrical fuse boxes, transformers and commercial premises.
