The number of blazes attended by the Fire Brigade in North Ayrshire fell by more than 50 per cent in the past year.

And the number of incidents the Fire Brigade were called to in North Ayrshire slumped by 14 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year.

However, Ian McMeekin (Area Commander) Scottish Fire and Rescue Service cautioned that there can be no complacency.

He told last Monday’s North Ayrshire Council Fire and Rescue Committee:  “We are benchmarking against periods where we have had a pandemic.”

In the first quarter of this year, there was a 32 per cent fall in accidental house fires to 25.

In 44 per cent of cases there was no firefighting action. There was intervention in only 12 per cent of cases.

In the first quarter of the year one person died as a result of a fire.

There were six occasions when people had been rescued in water by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

However deliberate fire setting is down more than 30 per cent.

There were 174 instances in the first quarter, which is down 34 per cent, compared to last year. These have been mainly  refuse or grassland fires.

The Area Commander revealed the Fire Brigade carried out home visits for people who could not hear alarms, or had mobility issues.

He said: “The visit is part of a multi-agency approach for the local area.”