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Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 836 primary fires in its latest reporting year, compared with 3,899 at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. Fatalities and non-fatal casualties from primary fires totalled 64 for Bedfordshire and 589 for Greater Manchester.

Average time from call to first appliance at a dwelling fire is 8:27 in Bedfordshire and 6:55 in Greater Manchester. Response times differ by several minutes, often reflecting geography — larger rural coverage areas mean longer average travel to incidents. On enforcement activity, Greater Manchester carried out the larger number of fire safety audits over the year (3,562 vs 1,636). Satisfactory-outcome rates were 77% for Bedfordshire and 56% for Greater Manchester, covering audits that closed without requiring informal action, formal notice, or prohibition. False alarms make up a notably larger share of call-outs in Greater Manchester (43% vs 40%).