IT TAKES Berkshire’s fire crews an average of 8 minutes and 40 seconds to respond according to new research – one of the fastest response times in the country.
And every fire and rescue service in England manages to get to the scene in just over 12 minutes.
Home Office data was analysed by personal injury firm claims.co.uk to find out how long it takes from making a call to getting on site.
The firm explored the process from call handling, crew turnout and drive times for all types of fires, and then ranked them according to time.
Tyne and Wear came top with 6 minutes and 53 seconds, and Claims.co.uk said they 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 takes the second spot in the ranking. Out of the 15,960 reported fires, the total response time averaged 7 minutes and 1 second. Greater London experienced the fastest average drive time for dwelling-related fires in the UK, which was 4 minutes and 12 seconds.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service was eighth in the table, behind Lancashire on 8 minutes 27 seconds, and 10 seconds ahead of South Yorkshire.
On the other end of the scale, North Yorkshire is revealed to have the slowest firefighter response time, at 12 minutes and 37 seconds for 1,720 fires. North Yorkshire had the slowest drive times for all fire types at an average of 10 minutes and 44 seconds.
A spokesperson from Claims.co.uk has commented on the findings: “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.”
