Fire chief pleased with positive annual report

FIRES across Dumfries and Galloway resulted in just four hospitalisations last year — despite a rise in the total number of incidents.

Of those four admissions to hospital, none were life-threatening, according to fire service area commander Derek Heaton.

He attended the council’s police, fire and rescue sub-committee last week to present the annual performance report (April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026) to councillors.

Commander Heaton said: “Overall, our performance remains positive. There were a total of 1629 incidents. And while that represents a three percent increase on the previous reporting year, it’s 23 percent lower than in 2022/23 and six percent lower than in 2023/24.”

On the headline fire statistics, he said: “There were 420 fires recorded during the year, which is a 14 percent increase on the reporting period.

“Despite that increase, an important point is there were no fire fatalities in the reporting period and only four instances of hospitalisation, which includes two with minor injuries.

“That indicates although demand has increased, the overall impact in terms of loss of life and serious harm remains low.”

Commander Heaton highlighted that accidental house fires remain well contained, with 90 per cent kept to the room where they started.

Seven people died on the region’s roads, although there was a five per cent reduction in total road traffic collision incidents alongside a 15 per cent drop in non-fatal casualties and a 22 per cent reduction in the number of people requiring rescue by firefighters.

Commander Heaton confirmed a new initiative has been launched with 16 volunteers to improve road safety education for motorcyclists across the region.

On prevention work, he reported that 688 high-risk home fire safety visits were completed during the year, alongside 555 fire safety audits.

Commander Heaton added: “I would like to acknowledge the commitment of our staff and partner agencies across the region, because the performance outlined in this report is a direct reflection of their hard work.”

It was Commander Heaton’s final annual report in the role, with area commander Bobby Lennox set to take over from July 20.