Be careful on the water!

Thursday 26 June 2014

Firefighters dealt with a huge rise in the number of rescues from the sea last year as the hot summer lured more people out on to the water.

The Jersey Fire and Rescue Service has released its annual report for 2013, which records a slight rise in incidents from 1,067 to 1,186, and a slight increase in fires from 233 to 244.

Last year also saw the first death at a fire in the last five years.

Stats recorded by the service also showed that firefighters attended 507 false fire alarms and 56 house fires over the course of the year. But the biggest increase was in launches for the inshore rescue boats, which went out 37 times in 2013 compared to 13 in 2012 – firefighters say that most of those calls were to rescue people cut off by the tide.

Chief Fire Officer Mark James said: “The Fire and Rescue Service is passionate about reducing the number of fires and other emergencies in Jersey.

“Despite the huge effort the Service undertakes to prevent fires and other emergencies, 2013 saw a small increase in the number of house fires and fire-related injuries.

“Tragically we also dealt with the first fire-related death in the last five years. We will continue to do everything we can promote fire safety and protect people from harm to try to reverse this trend.”

The service is still concerned about the number of homes that do not have a working smoke detector – the Jersey Annual Social Survey carried out last year showed that 9% of homes were without a detector, and that the figure had not changes since 2007.

Over the course of the year, firefighters carried out 189 home fire safety visits and installed 200 smoke detectors – another 300 were installed under the Home Energy Scheme.