Report on Government Services 2017

Volume D, Chapter 9

Emergency services for fire events

Performance reporting for fire events includes information on fire service organisations, which are one of the primary agencies involved in providing emergency management services for fire events. From the 2017 Report, Ambulance services is now reported in Volume E Health.

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Key Facts
Indicator Framework
Indicator Results

Nationally in 2015-16:

fire service organisations attended a total of 382 440 emergency incidents, of which 97 433 were fire event incidents
total expenditure of fire service organisations was $4.0 billion, or $168 per person in the population
18 980 full time equivalent (FTE) paid personnel were employed by fire service organisations, of which 76.3 per cent were paid firefighters. A large number of volunteer firefighters (226 509 people) also participated in the delivery of fire services.

Emergency services for fire and other events aim to build resilient communities that work together to understand and manage the risks that they confront, and to reduce the adverse effects of events on the community (including people, property, infrastructure, economy and environment). Governments’ involvement is aimed at providing emergency services that:

contribute to the communities management of risks and its preparedness, through the promotion of risk reduction and mitigation activities
are accessible, responsive and sustainable.

Governments aim for emergency services to meet these objectives in an equitable and efficient manner.

The performance indicator framework provides information on equity, efficiency and effectiveness, and distinguishes the outputs and outcomes of emergency services for fire events. The performance indicator framework shows which data are complete and comparable in the 2017 Report.

Indicator framework

An overview of the Emergency services for fire events performance indicator results are presented. Information to assist the interpretation of these data can be found in the indicator interpretation boxes in the Emergency services for fire events chapter and attachment tables.

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Effectiveness — prevention/mitigation indicators

Fire risk prevention/mitigation activities

Accidental residential structure fires per 100 000 households, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
No.	79.0	111.4	62.1	58.4	76.7	102.0	87.4	73.6	81.9

Source: Attachment table 9A.15

Estimated percentage of households with a smoke alarm/detector, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	93.6	97.2	96.5	91.0	na	na	na	80.0	na

Source: Attachment table 9A.23

Confinement to room/object of origin

Proportion of building fires confined to room of origin, all ignition types, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	73.3	71.7	68.2	69.4	66.3	57.0	78.0	90.4	na

Source: Attachment table 9A.10

Effectiveness — sustainability

Firefighter workforce

Proportion of FTE employees who exited the firefighting workforce, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	1.4	0.1	3.6	1.8	6.8	2.1	2.8	6.1	1.8

Source: Attachment table 9A.5

Effectiveness — response

Response times to structure fires

State-wide response times to structure fires — including call taking time, 90th percentile, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
min.	14.4	10.6	12.2	15.7	12.9	17.2	10.2	15.8	..

Source: Attachment table 9A.26

State-wide response times to structure fires — excluding call taking time, 90th percentile, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
min.	12.2	9.8	11.6	14.2	14.0	16.3	9.0	13.6	..

Source: Attachment table 9A.27

Efficiency indicators

Fire service organisations’ expenditure per person

Fire service organisations' expenditure per person, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
$	135.27	243.25	128.12	151.22	142.67	272.95	214.49	190.96	167.97

Source: Attachment table 9A.29

Outcome indicators

Fire death rate

Fire death rate, per million people, 2015

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	2.9	4.2	4.4	3.9	6.5	9.7	10.2	4.1	4.1

Source: Attachment table 9A.6

Fire injury rate

Rate of hospital admissions due to fire injury, per 100 000 people, 2014-15

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	15.0	12.1	17.7	19.7	19.6	19.8	8.0	79.4	16.3

Source: Attachment table 9A.9

Value of asset losses from fire events

Value of fire event household insurance claims per person, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
$	20.79	26.34	26.93	21.62	37.35	62.89	15.02	17.32	25.46

Source: Attachment table 9A.12

Notes

These data and caveats for these data are available in chapter 9 and attachment 9A.

na Not available. .. Not applicable.