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Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service attended 481 primary fires in its latest reporting year, compared with 2,100 at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Fatalities and non-fatal casualties from primary fires totalled 23 for Northumberland and 165 for South Yorkshire.

Average time from call to first appliance at a dwelling fire is 10:19 in Northumberland and 7:39 in South Yorkshire. Response times differ by several minutes, often reflecting geography — larger rural coverage areas mean longer average travel to incidents. On enforcement activity, South Yorkshire carried out the larger number of fire safety audits over the year (4,074 vs 1,116). Satisfactory-outcome rates were 29% for Northumberland and 33% for South Yorkshire, covering audits that closed without requiring informal action, formal notice, or prohibition. False alarms make up a notably larger share of call-outs in Northumberland (36% vs 34%).