No hot ashes

BRITAIN’S heatwave, which climaxed with thunderstorms on July 22nd, has been good for barbecuers. It is less good for firefighters. Fires have broken out all over the country, including one that spread across four hectares in Croydon, a suburb of London. Yet much like barbecue summers, unwanted flames seem more and more of an aberration. Between 2001 and 2012 the number of blazes reported to the fire service in Britain halved. The number of people killed by smoke and flames has fallen from 967 in 1985 to just 380 last year.

In 1988 regulations obliged furniture-makers to use less flammable materials. Since 2007 sprinklers have been required in all new blocks of flats over 30m high. Electronics have become less liable to explode. Smoke alarms have spread from just 8% of homes in 1988 to over 85% of them now.

Social changes have had an effect, too. Whether thanks to hectoring or superior electronic distractions, children have stopped playing with matches: the number of fires they start has roughly halved. The proportion of people who smoke is down by a third since 1990—the elderly, once notorious for starting fires by smoking in bed, have cut back particularly sharply. Indoor fires have been replaced by gas and electric heaters. Chip pans are either used less or less recklessly. The number of fires that start in one has fallen by three-quarters since 2001.

Though they now spend more time on preventive measures—checking buildings and so on—this leaves fire services with rather less to do. Sir Ken Knight, who advises the government on the matter, recently recommended that many of Britain’s 46 local fire and rescue services should merge, possibly sharing stations and equipment with police and ambulance services. He also suggested that the number of “on call”, or part-time, firefighters ought to rise from 30% of the total to 40%.

The government has yet to act on Sir Ken’s incendiary suggestions—a response is due in the autumn. But the number of firefighters is already falling—there are 6% fewer today than in 2007. In Scotland eight local fire and rescue services have merged into one. English firefighters are more resistant to change. The Fire Brigades Union argues that Sir Ken’s review is little more than an excuse to make cuts. They are already balloting for a strike over changes to their pensions. A previous strike, in 2002, won some concessions. But the number of fires then was almost twice what it is now.