431 rescues from blazes

11:20am Wednesday 15th October 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

FIREFIGHTERS saved 431 people from blazes over the past decade, according to union officials.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) stressed how the role of the brigade had changed and become a ‘critical all-round emergency rescue service’.

The union also said that firefighters rescue 150 people a year from fires and crashes on the roads.

Acting Dorset FBU chairman Martin Reed said: “These figures are not a celebration of the work of the fire service but they do underline that there is hope, help, rescue and survival as well as tragedy and loss.

“The fire service today is an all-round emergency response and rescue service.

“The figures illustrate why the public has such high confidence in the fire service.

“They also underscore the importance of the frontline rescue capability in saving lives.

“It is now very clear that the fire service is a critical all-round local emergency rescue service.

“Our emergency rescue role covers fires, but now extends much further into water rescues, rope rescues, building collapse, terrorist attacks and a range of other emergency incidents.”

The FBU said that 431 people were rescued from fires in Dorset from 1997 to 2006, the 10 most recent years for which data is available.

Officers rescued people from 1,126 road traffic collisions in the 10 years to 2005/6.

The FBU said that the total number of people rescued by Dorset’s service was much larger, because some figures, such as those rescued from flooding and water, are excluded.

The figures are based on answers to parliamentary questions, Freedom of Information Act questions and data contained in the official fire statistics.