Fire and rescue authorities operational statistics: April 2023 to March 2024

• There were 2,211 full-time equivalent staff (FTE) and 1,278 retained duty system (RDS) staff employed across the three Welsh Fire and Rescue Authority areas on 31 March 2024. This compares with 2,215 full-time equivalent and 1,293 retained staff on 31 March 2023. Numbers of FTE staff have decreased for the first time since 2018-19; numbers of RDS staff have also decreased but been prone to fluctuation.
• Of the 2,211 FTE staff, over two thirds (1,492) were wholetime firefighters, a similar proportion to earlier years.

• During 2023-24, 11.6 shifts/days were lost per person to sickness for wholetime firefighters and 17.9 shifts/days for fire control staff.
• There were 117 injuries sustained by wholetime (including day crew) and retained duty system firefighters in the course of operational and training activities.

• During 2023-24 fire control handled almost 71,500 calls in Wales, a decrease of 3% on 2022-23.

• In 2023-24, Welsh Fire and Rescue Authorities completed 1,875 fire safety audits in non-domestic premises. This represents 2% of known such premises in Wales.

• In 2023-24 the Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales completed over 45,000 Home Fire Safety Checks; in 80% of these at least one member of the household was identified as displaying a risk.
• In 2023-24 the Fire and Rescue Authorities completed almost 20,000 Home Fire Safety Checks that also involved completion of non-fire related prevention activity. More than 2,300 resulted in the Fire and Rescue Authorities making an onward referral to another organisation.

Statistician: Claire Davey
Email: stats.inclusion@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099