Compare fire statistics

Year ending 2026/03

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service
vs
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service
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Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service attended 669 primary fires in its latest reporting year, compared with 1,666 at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. Fatalities and non-fatal casualties from primary fires totalled 38 for Cumbria and 191 for Merseyside.

Average time from call to first appliance at a dwelling fire is 9:37 in Cumbria and 6:52 in Merseyside. Response times differ by several minutes, often reflecting geography — larger rural coverage areas mean longer average travel to incidents. On enforcement activity, Merseyside carried out the larger number of fire safety audits over the year (4,152 vs 1,536). Satisfactory-outcome rates were 39% for Cumbria and 76% for Merseyside, covering audits that closed without requiring informal action, formal notice, or prohibition.

Total Fires

Primary fires attended by fire and rescue services

669

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

1,666

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Fatalities & Casualties

Deaths and non-fatal casualties from primary fires

38

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

191

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

False Alarm Rate

Proportion of all incidents that were false alarms

39%

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

40%

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Fire Safety Audits

Number of fire safety audits conducted by the authority

1,536

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

4,152

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Audit Outcomes

Results of fire safety audits: satisfactory, informal action, formal action

1,542

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service total

4,218

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service total

Average Response Time

Average time from call to first appliance arriving at dwelling fires

9:37

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

6:52

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

Response Time Distribution

Proportion of incidents by response time band

100%

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service total

100%

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service total

Deliberate Fires

Primary fires recorded as deliberate (arson)

470

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

3,158

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

About this data

Source: MHCLG Fire Statistics. Crown Copyright. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Figures compared here are drawn from the same MHCLG fire statistics release. Metrics reported on a "year ending" basis may use different reference months (September for incidents and response times, March for audits and outcomes). Headline figures on this page are for the year ending 2026/03.

View source data on GOV.UK