By Grant Smith and Stewart Ross

FIFE HAS suffered one of its worst years for fatalities in a series of domestic fires which claimed 13 lives in 2002-03.

The figures are contained in the annual report by Dennis Davies, HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services, which was published yesterday.

A total of 84 people died in fires in Scotland during the year, half of them in Strathclyde. That was the same number as in 2001-02.

According to Fife Fire and Rescue Service, 13 people lost their lives in fires in the region. Fife had the equal second- highest number of fatalities among the eight brigade areas. Tayside, with one fatality, had the equal-lowest.

In its own 2002-2003 annual report, Fife Fire and Rescue Service fully recognised the leap in figures but did note that five of the deaths occurred in a single incident in Steelend in June 2002, while a further three died in a fire in Kennoway in January, last year.

Divisional officer Kenny Moran said, “Extensive community fire safety work over the last two years has seen Fife emerge with the lowest figure in Scotland for accidental fire casualties.

“Nevertheless the fact that an unacceptably large number of people died shows that the public must remain vigilant and that once a fire starts, the occupants of those households without a smoke alarm are in extreme danger.”

Mr Davies reported that most deaths happened at home and fire investigators believed that almost two-thirds of them could have been avoided if smoke alarms had been fitted and working properly.

Alcohol was a factor in just over half the fatal fires.

Mr Davies said two people had died as a result of wilful fire-raising, a drop of five on the previous year.

More than 1700 people were injured in fires, most in the home.

Mr Davies noted that the total number of call-outs across Scotland fell by a tenth compared with 2001-02. However, he was concerned at the number of false alarms, often caused by faulty equipment or by malicious calls, and said reducing their numbers remained a key priority.

Tayside Fire Brigade dealt with 7512 incidents during the year, 1475 of which were what are termed primary fires, that is, those in homes and other buildings.

Secondary fires, which include grass fires, accounted for 2400 call-outs. There were 465 malicious false alarms.

The chief inspector’s report records incidents of special interest. In Tayside this included a fire on the M90 at the Friarton Bridge when a lorry and a light vehicle collided.

There were explosions on board the lorry, which was carrying lithium batteries, and residents of Walnut Grove had to be evacuated as a gas cloud headed towards them.

The brigade spent more than £21 million and had 409 whole-time firefighters, along with more than 300 retained and volunteer firefighters. Only 26 of them were women.

Among the whole-time staff, an average of 10 shifts per person were lost to sickness. That was down by one-fifth on the previous year, but still the second-highest among the eight brigades.

Fife firefighters dealt with 5945 incidents during the year, including 1061 primary fires, 1801 secondaries and 423 malicious calls.

Special incidents included car fires in two scrap yards in Kirkcaldy and a blaze at agricultural buildings near Cowdenbeath.

Spending was almost £17 million and the service had 390 whole-time firefighters and another 112 retained. There were 23 women.

Fife topped the sickness absence figures, with an average of 16.5 shifts lost per whole-time firefighter. That was up by almost one-third on the previous year.

Fife Divisional Officer Bob Paterson said, “When the HMI figures were published it emerged that we in Fife had provided data which was wrongly calculated.

“The correct figures are in the process of being worked out and we are unwilling to see them printed before they are forwarded to the HMI.”

He said the HMI figures were based on “number of shifts lost” while the Fife figures were based on “percentage of shifts lost.”

Mr Davies said that the year covered by his report had seen 15 days of national strike action by firefighters and there had been “genuine sadness and subsequent joy before and after each strike period.”

He went on, “It is important to record that throughout the inevitable trials and tribulations that change creates, the essential professional commitment of firefighters of all ranks and, likewise, control and support staff remained dedicated.

“The return to normal duties has generally been within a climate of constructive industrial relations. I hope this spirit of looking forward continues.”

He was, however, concerned about the rise in attacks on brigade personnel, of which 182 were recorded during 2002-03.

Objects being thrown at crews attending calls were the most common form of attack, although there were also instances of firefighters being physically assaulted.

Mr Davies said such incidents endangered firefighters and the public. The inspectorate wanted to see offenders prosecuted.

The year had also seen “considerable efforts” being made to improve the ability of brigades to deal with terrorist incidents.

Mr Davies also welcomed the continuing development of the historic buildings national fire database.