Fire service response times revealed in Home Office data.

The figures hit a 10-year high in West Yorkshire last year, new figures show.

Data from the Home Office revealed people in West Yorkshire waited an average of eight minutes and 50 seconds for firefighters to respond to primary fires in 2022-23.

Despite this, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) still ranked ninth out of the 44 fire services in England for response times.

A fire is categorised as “primary” if it involves at least one of these elements: buildings, outdoor structures and vehicles that are not derelict; casualties or rescue; or are attended by five or more crews.

They are considered to be the most serious fires with a threat to life or property.

Last year’s average response time was 20 seconds higher than 2021-22 and more than a minute longer than it was in 2012-13 (seven minutes and 24 seconds).

The response time increased year-on-year from that point until it reached a height of eight minutes and 47 seconds in 2015-16, before dropping to eight minutes and 32 seconds the year after and then again to eight minutes and 22 seconds in 2017-18.

It began to rise again, by two seconds the year after and four seconds in 2019-20, with a brief dip to eight minutes and 21 seconds in 2020-21.

The total response time takes into account time spent on the phone reporting the incident, the crew’s preparation, and their journey time.

The average response time takes into account call handling (Image: Gundula Vogel from Pixabay)

Driving to an incident was responsible for the majority of the overall time, taking five minutes and 57 seconds on average.

The figure for preparation was one minute and 20 seconds while call handling was one minute and 33 seconds.

Across the country, the average response time in 2022-23 was nine minutes and 13 seconds — the longest seen since statistics began.

The Fire Brigades Union criticised the Government for not investing enough into services as “every second counts".

Ben Selby, FBU assistant general secretary said: “Firefighters do everything they can to keep the public safe, but with fewer firefighters, fewer fire stations and fewer fire engines, it is no wonder that response times are deteriorating.”

He added: “Years of brutal Government cuts to the fire service are having a clear detrimental impact on public safety.

“Every second counts in a fire. It is about time that the Government stopped counting pennies and invested in our fire service to protect people.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to keep us safe, and overall fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.6 billion in 2023-24.

“Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.”

WYFRS attended 3,075 primary fires in 2022/23 - 191 more than the year before.

Across England, the number of primary fires saw a 5.1 per cent rise compared to the year before, as the warm dry weather last summer caused more wildfires.

But overall in West Yorkshire, the amount of primary fires has dropped by more than half since 2012-13 (7,794 recorded in that year).

A National Fire Chiefs Council spokesperson said: “In recent years response times across all incident types have been gradually increasing as the range of incident types attended by FRSs has grown and resources have been targeted at higher risks such as fires in the home, where most deaths and injuries from fire occur.

“Attendance times for fires in the home have remained relatively static over the last 10 years.”

There were 1,078 dwelling fires attended in West Yorkshire in 2022-23 and 1,108 road vehicle fires.

The average response time for dwelling fires – which includes houses or bungalows, flats and other dwellings – was at seven minutes and 41 seconds last year.

That was just two seconds longer than 2021-22 and the average response time for these types of fires has increased by a single minute over the past 10 years, while for “other outdoor fires” it has increased by three minutes and 37 seconds.

Dave Teggart, area manager operations support at WYFRS, said: “We serve a population of over two million people living and working in around 800 square miles across West Yorkshire.

“In 2022/23 we achieved our planned response times 94 per cent of the time for all incidents. This is despite an increase in the number of primary fires - up by 191 compared to the previous year - and an increase of only 20 seconds in the average response time.

“It is a strong testament to the dedication of our firefighters, and the preparation and organisation of the many teams that support them."