National fire safety consistency questioned following latest CE Safety data

by Featured NewsHealth and SafetyResearchSafety

Regional disparities in CE Safety fire inspection data

New research reveals that 19 fire and rescue service areas in the UK experienced a decline in satisfactory fire safety inspection outcomes over the last three financial years.

Fire safety specialists CE Safety analysed the percentage of satisfactory audits conducted by fire and rescue services between 2022/23 and 2024/25.

The data shows that 25 regions recorded an increase in satisfactory ratings during the same period.

Humberside recorded the largest decline in satisfactory audit outcomes.

In the 2022/23 period Humberside reported an 84% satisfactory rate.

This figure fell to 20% in 2023/24 and reached 8% in 2024/25.

Buckinghamshire saw a 43% drop in satisfactory audits between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

The satisfactory rate in Buckinghamshire moved from 75% in 2022/23 to 49% in 2023/24 and 28% in 2024/25.

Surrey experienced a 26.6% decline over the last financial year.

Northumberland recorded a similar decrease of 26.3% in satisfactory audit rates.

Other areas with falling rates included Dorset and Wiltshire at 34% and West Sussex at 34%.

Cumbria recorded a 39% satisfactory rate following an 18.75% decline.

Improving fire safety standards and regional leaders

Hertfordshire recorded the highest increase in satisfactory inspections moving into the 2024/25 financial year.

The satisfactory rate in Hertfordshire rose from 52% in 2023/24 to 89% in 2024/25.

North Yorkshire saw satisfactory audits increase by 32.3% to reach a rate of 82%.

Cleveland reported a 26.1% increase in its satisfactory inspection rate.

Cheshire maintained the highest overall percentage of satisfactory inspections at 92%.

Gary Ellis, managing director of CE Safety, commented on the findings.

Ellis said: “If you own a building or workplace in England or the UK, there are strict measures in place you must abide by, from appointing a fire marshal to having the correct fire doors installed, to keeping updated risk assessments to thorough fire prevention efforts, including working fire alarm systems.

“The importance of ensuring audits take place in buildings across the country cannot be understated – there are still thousands of fires in workplaces and public buildings in the UK every year.

“This is an area I hope to see improve radically in the near future, however building managers and owners should not wait until they are penalised before they act when it comes to fire safety.

“The responsibility is yours and should be treated with the utmost importance.”

The data highlights a lack of consistency in building safety standards across the country.

Hot Work fires fell 9% across England, CE Safety analysis finds

by Featured NewsResearchSafety

Hot Work fire incidents across England

CE Safety has analysed Office for National Statistics (ONS) records and identified 199 hot work-related fires in non-dwelling buildings across England in 2023/24 and 182 in 2024/25.

The company said the data covers more than 26,000 non-dwelling fire incidents recorded by the ONS across England’s fire and rescue areas over the two financial years.

It reported that hot work fires fell by 9% year on year, and that they accounted for 1.3% of all non-dwelling fires in 2024/25.

Welding and cutting remain dominant

CE Safety said welding or cutting was the source of ignition in 85% of hot work-related fires in 2023/24.

It added that the proportion linked to welding or cutting remained at 85% in 2024/25.

The company said this indicates welding and cutting continued to be the dominant ignition source within the hot work incidents it identified.

Construction settings and casualty counts

CE Safety said 12 hot work fires in 2023/24 occurred in buildings under construction.

It reported that eight incidents in 2024/25 occurred in buildings under construction.

Across both financial years, CE Safety said 32 hot work fires had at least one casualty or fatality at the scene.

It reported that 19 of those incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 13 were recorded in 2024/25.

Regional proportions and incident totals

CE Safety said Cumbria recorded the highest proportion of hot work fires in 2024/25, accounting for 4.55% of all non-dwelling fires attended in the region.

It said Derbyshire recorded 4.06%, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly recorded 3.85%, North Yorkshire recorded 3.57%, and Hereford and Worcester recorded 3.5%.

CE Safety said London Fire Brigade recorded the highest number of hot work fires in 2024/25, with 14 incidents.

It added that the 14 incidents accounted for 0.81% of all non-dwelling fires in the region.

For 2023/24, CE Safety said the five regions with the highest percentage of hot work fires were Northumberland (4.6%), Hertfordshire (3.98%), Devon & Somerset (3.91%), West Yorkshire (3%) and North Yorkshire (2.93%).

CE Safety comments on oversight and permits

Gary Ellis, Managing Director of CE Safety, comments: “While the number of fires related to hot works don’t contribute to a huge percentage of the total number of fires in England every year, our analysis of data from the ONS still shows that these highly dangerous incidents do still happen consistently every year.

“Although there was a drop in the number of hot work-related fires in 24/25, this drop was only small and there’s still a significant number of them being attended.

“However, these fires should be near enough avoidable.

“There is often a lack of managerial oversight of hot work activities.

“The requirements for a fire risk assessment and hot work permit (HWP) are well known, but in many cases they are generic and treated more like a paper exercise by both the client and the contractor.

“The data we’ve presented here shows that proper practices should always be put in place when conducting hot works, ensuring everyone has had comprehensive fire training to ensure they stay safe.”

What the Hot Work figures mean for controls

The CE Safety analysis identifies welding and cutting as the ignition source in 85% of recorded hot work fires across both 2023/24 and 2024/25.

This points training officers and instructors towards welding and cutting controls, including how hot work permits are applied in practice and who is responsible for oversight.

Risk assessors, facility managers and fire-protection contractors can use the regional percentages to prioritise scrutiny where hot work incidents form a higher share of non-dwelling fires.

The casualty and fatality count attached to 32 incidents across the two years provides a prompt to review whether permit processes, supervision and fire training are being treated as task-specific controls.

The construction figures, covering 12 incidents in buildings under construction in 2023/24 and eight in 2024/25, provide a reference point for site managers planning hot work activity and monitoring.