Compare fire statistics

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service attended 1,131 primary fires in its latest reporting year, compared with 1,757 at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Fatalities and non-fatal casualties from primary fires totalled 47 for County Durham and Darlington and 186 for Tyne and Wear.

Average time from call to first appliance at a dwelling fire is 8:18 in County Durham and Darlington and 6:32 in Tyne and Wear. Response times differ by several minutes, often reflecting geography — larger rural coverage areas mean longer average travel to incidents. On enforcement activity, County Durham and Darlington carried out the larger number of fire safety audits over the year (4,064 vs 2,920). Satisfactory-outcome rates were 51% for County Durham and Darlington and 65% for Tyne and Wear, covering audits that closed without requiring informal action, formal notice, or prohibition. False alarms make up a notably larger share of call-outs in Tyne and Wear (37% vs 30%).