More than 50 people died in non-fire emergencies in Cumbria last year
Firefighters routinely attend a range of emergencies other than fires, such as flooding, traffic collisions or assisting other emergency services with medical issues. Home Office figures show the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service reported 51 deaths in non-fire incidents they attended last year - up from 40 in 2021-22 and the highest number since comparable records began in 2010-11. In the areas covered by the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service there were 1,561 non-fire incidents attended - a 14.3 per cent increase from the year before and a record high.
Of these, 243 were road traffic collisions, 150 were flooding or rescue from water, and 80 were medical incidents. Amongst the situations that Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service dealt with was the tragic loss of Lewis Kirkpatrick, 15, and Jaden Doyle, 14, in the River Eden at Carlisle last summer.[1] A spokesperson for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said: "Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is continually striving to make Cumbria a safer place for all, and we utilise the data and statistics to inform our activities and interventions.
"Cumbria FRS is committed to working collaboratively with partner agencies to reduce the number or people killed or seriously injured in incidents across Cumbria. "We have several collaborative interventions that have been undertaken and are ongoing to achieve this. For example, the summer lakeside patrols saw Cumbria FRS, alongside partners from United Utilities, Lake District National Park Wardens, National Trust Rangers and Cumbria Wildfire Group, engage with over 500 people in and around Windermere, Ullswater, Rydal, Grasmere, Blea Tarn, Haweswater and Derwent Water, providing water safety information to visitors and advice around safe use of BBQs.
"Additionally, we have a current joint initiative with Cumbria Police and funded by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner where we are engaging and educating young drivers around the safe use of Cumbria roads and the devastating impact poor choices can make.
"Our crews interact daily with their communities to educate and inform, and we will be relentless in our mission to make Cumbria a safer place for all."