An Angus fire chief has said the county is “moving in the right direction” as new figures show a drop in the number of accidental house fires and fire related injuries.
Fire casualties dropped from 11 in the first three months of last year to five between January and March this year.
There were 23 accidental house fires in Angus between January and March this year, four less than in the same period for 2015.
There were no fire fatalities in Angus in the first three months of this year.
Area manager Colin Grieve attributed the falling casualty rates to improved partnership working.
He said: “Our overall vision is to have zero fire casualties throughout Scotland and the drop in casualty figures for this year in Angus shows we are moving in the right direction.
“These figures have not been achieved by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service alone and thanks must go to Angus Council, Police Scotland and the countless other partners who continue to help us implement robust risk reduction strategies.
“Crews regularly visit houses and provide free home fire safety visits which helps to reduce the number of casualties through early detection and intervention. That is instrumental in contributing to safer communities.”
The winter storms that ravaged Scotland during January were also reflected in the report.
Firefighters in Angus received 33 flood-related call outs over the three-month period.
Deliberate fires accounted for seven per cent of all incidents in Angus in the first three months of the year. 17 incidents involved grassland/trees and seven were refuse fires.
Mr Grieve added: “Firefighters continue to work very hard to build relationship with young people in Angus and provide information on the dangers of wilful fire raising.
“Crews throughout the area visit schools and work with partners in a proactive way to engage with the target audience.”
Non-fire related incidents, including road traffic collisions, flooding and medical assistance, attributed to 22 per cent of all call outs in Angus over the first three months of the year.
Firefighters are now attending a higher number of incidents where they are providing support to the Scottish Ambulance Service or Police Scotland.
“This type of service will continue to be supported by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crews in the future as we continue to develop cross emergency service support,” Mr Grieve added.
