West Midlands has third fastest firefighter response time in UK but Staffordshire has sixth slowest

New research has found the areas of the UK with the fastest firefighter response times, with Tyne and Wear taking the top spot with an average response time of six minutes and 53 seconds.

Personal injury experts at Claims.co.uk analysed data from the Home Office to find the total firefighter response times in each area of the UK for the three months leading up to September 2023.

The average of the call handling times, crew turnout times, and drive times for all types of fires was calculated to determine the final response time and the ranking.

Firefighters in the Tyne and Wear area responded to 3,002 fires in total, with the average crew turnout time for dwelling fires being faster than all areas in the UK at just 34 seconds.

Greater London took the second spot in the ranking.

Out of the 15,960 reported fires, the total response time averaged seven minutes and one second.

The region experienced the fastest average drive time for dwelling-related fires in the UK, which was four minutes and 12 seconds.

West Midlands ranked third, with a total response time of seven minutes and 19 seconds.

The area experienced 6,142 fires in total and the West Midlands also had the second-highest average drive time in the UK for dwelling-related fires at four minutes and 14 seconds.

Assistant chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service, Simon Barry, said: "We pride ourselves on providing an excellent emergency response to our communities.

"In fact, our average attendance time for the most serious incidents we attend is under five minutes. A quick, safe response to serious incidents in high-risk areas saves lives and protects homes and businesses."

He said the service continually monitors how long it takes to handle calls, how quickly crews then board a fire engine, then their travel time to incidents.

"We take it incredibly seriously, because lives and livelihoods can often depend on us," he said.

"We also work hard to understand and assess the risks faced by people across the West Midlands conurbation. This ongoing work helps us to plan when and where we need our resources which, in turn, means we can provide such rapid response times.

"Our response to fires and other emergencies continues to be graded ‘outstanding’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services."

However, on the other end of the scale North Yorkshire was revealed to have the slowest firefighter response time, at 12 minutes and 37 seconds for 1,720 fires.

Staffordshire had the sixth slowest average firefighter response time at 11 minutes and 28 seconds, putting it 38th in the list of 43 regions.

A spokesperson from Claims.co.uk said: “It’s fascinating to see which areas of the UK have the fastest firefighter response times, as it’s certainly reassuring for residents to know that they’ll receive help quickly in an emergency.

“While we don’t doubt the selflessness and hard work of firefighters across the UK, the response times could be attributed to a lack of fire departments, equipment, and possibly staff shortages.

"Fortunately, the study outlines the areas that could benefit from further funding so that residents can receive help much quicker.”

Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service has also been contacted for comment.

Data from the Home Office for the quarter ending September 2023 was used to obtain the average call handling times, drive times, and crew turnout times for fire types including primary, dwellings, other buildings, other outdoors and road vehicles.

The average of the times for each response time and fire type was calculated to determine the ranking.