HOUSE fires in Scotland have fallen to their lowest level in more than 20 years, with the number of people killed in all blazes down 60% since 1990.
For the first time, the statistics reveal that cooking appliances, such as ovens, accounted for the majority of non-fatal accidental house fires last year, while cigarettes, lighters and matches were the main source of ignition for fatal fires.
Alcohol or drugs were suspected to be a factor in 16% of accidental house fires, down slightly on last year.
The figures, published in the Scottish Government's Fire Statistics Scotland 2012-13, show that house fires have fallen 40% since records began, from 9811 in 1990 to 5820 in 2012/13.
Provisional statistics also show 46 people died in fires in 2012-13, against 60 in 2011/12. In 1990 the total killed was 115.
Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "While we know statistics based on small numbers can fluctuate over time, the positive downward trend is testament to the hard work of the fire and rescue services in Scotland and their continued focus on prevention.
"The significant reduction in the number of people hurt or killed is to be welcomed, but every death is a tragedy and there are 46 families across Scotland without a loved one due to fires last year."
A reduction over the past 23 years in the number of people who smoke, coupled with increased use of domestic smoke alarms, are believed to be behind the fall in house fires and fire deaths.
The drop in fires has led to debate in recent years over the number of stations required in Scotland and some rural areas have already seen retained premises taken "off the run" or closed.
The figures also show the total number of blazes in Scotland is at its lowest level since a peak in 1994/95.
Pat Watters, chairman of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board, said: "We know drink and drugs often play a part in these incidents and that is a wider societal issue that cannot be tackled by the Service alone.
"One of the things we can assist everyone with is a free home safety visit. It is a simple way to make you and your loved ones safer."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article