Bonfire Night callouts in London at 'all-time low'

The number of fires attended by the London Fire Brigade on Bonfire Night have dropped by 69% over 10 years

Bonfire Night incidents in London are at the lowest level ever recorded, London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said.

In 2005 officers were alerted to 365 fires in the capital, but last year there were only 112 - a fall of 69%.

The 572 calls to Brigade Control on Bonfire Night in 2014 were down 58% on 5 November 2005, when 1,372 were made.

More people tend to go to organised displays now rather than letting off their own fireworks, an LFB spokesman said when asked to interpret the data.

"It's fantastic that people are heeding our safety advice and reducing the number of calls and fires we have on 5 November," said operations director Dave Brown.

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The number of incidents attended on Bonfire Night was 61% lower in 2014 than in 2006

Nearly 1,000 fires were attended across London over the Diwali, Halloween, and Bonfire Night period from 24 October to 10 November in 2014.

During the corresponding period in 2006 LFB attended 2,293 fires.

Hoax calls have also seen a sharp decrease during the last decade, with officers attending 54 malicious calls between 24 October and 10 November in 2014, down from 185 in 2006.

Slower response times

The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) agreed there had been a downward trend, but said recent cuts still "jeopardise people's safety".

A spokesman said: "With the closure of 10 fire stations in London last year, removal of 16 fire appliances in London alone and the loss of 600 frontline fire fighters, data shows that response times were increased.

"Last week, a man in Camden lost his life because response times were double what they should have been."

The borough with the highest number of fires attended on 5 November was Tower Hamlets, with 374 on Bonfire Night since 2006, whereas the City of London only had six.