Compare fire statistics

Year ending 2026/03

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
vs
West Midlands Fire Service
Remove comparison

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service attended 1,085 primary fires in its latest reporting year, compared with 3,561 at West Midlands Fire Service. Fatalities and non-fatal casualties from primary fires totalled 97 for Hereford and Worcester and 741 for West Midlands.

Average time from call to first appliance at a dwelling fire is 10:57 in Hereford and Worcester and 6:29 in West Midlands. Response times differ by several minutes, often reflecting geography — larger rural coverage areas mean longer average travel to incidents. On enforcement activity, Hereford and Worcester carried out the larger number of fire safety audits over the year (2,724 vs 1,552). Satisfactory-outcome rates were 29% for Hereford and Worcester and 57% for West Midlands, covering audits that closed without requiring informal action, formal notice, or prohibition. False alarms make up a notably larger share of call-outs in Hereford and Worcester (43% vs 37%).

Total Fires

Primary fires attended by fire and rescue services

1,085

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

3,561

West Midlands Fire Service

Fatalities & Casualties

Deaths and non-fatal casualties from primary fires

97

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

741

West Midlands Fire Service

False Alarm Rate

Proportion of all incidents that were false alarms

43%

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

37%

West Midlands Fire Service

Fire Safety Audits

Number of fire safety audits conducted by the authority

2,724

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

1,552

West Midlands Fire Service

Audit Outcomes

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

2,688

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service total

1,550

West Midlands Fire Service total

Average Response Time

Average time from call to first appliance arriving at dwelling fires

10:57

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

6:29

West Midlands Fire Service

Response Time Distribution

Proportion of incidents by response time band

100%

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service total

100%

West Midlands Fire Service total

Deliberate Fires

Primary fires recorded as deliberate (arson)

754

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

3,518

West Midlands Fire 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