You must be doing something right - less dying in fires

The number of people in the UK who have died as a result of a fire decreased between 2008 and 2010.

This is according to the World Fire Statistics Bulletin No 29, which has recently been published by the Geneva Association.

Data from a number of countries from around the world - such as the US, Singapore, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan and Australia - was extracted and analysed for the report, which covered statistics from 2008 to 2010.

Adjusting for deaths that were unknown to the UK's fire brigade and those not recorded on death certificates, it is estimated 445 people died as a result of a blaze in 2010.

This figure is lower than the 475 and 460 recorded in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

It was shown that the number of deaths per 100,000 population between 2008 and 2010 was 0.75 in the UK.

The report revealed how between 70 and 90 per cent of these fire fatalities occurred in domestic housing.

In terms of fire-related injuries, it is thought this figure stood at approximately 22,500 for 2009, when taking into account casualties unknown to the brigade or hospitals. This is lower than 2008's tally of 24,500.

The adjusted cost of public fire brigades was shown to be £3 billion in 2010, which is more than the £2.85 billion that it has been for the last two years.

As a percentage of the UK's gross domestic product, this was 0.2 per cent.

With regards to the cost of direct fire losses, it transpired this figure stood at £1.75 billion in 2010, unchanged from 2009 and lower than 2008's £1.95 billion.

The report stressed the importance of building better fire protection and improving consumer education to lower the costs accrued from fire. It also called upon governments across the globe to collect and publish data that revealed how bad the effects of fire were, and to establish national fire safety plans.

But then again who takes over three years to compile a report

THREE YEAR OLD DATA