Greater Manchester experiences over 39 deliberate fires per day – highest rate in the UK

The arson study by Safety Group UK ranks the average number of daily deliberate fire incidents across UK regions, revealing Manchester far outpaces other major metropolitan areas for fire emergencies.

Key Findings

• Greater Manchester ranks #1 nationally with 39.36 deliberate fires per day, ahead of West Yorkshire (37.52), Tyne and Wear (34.74), and South Yorkshire (30.79)
• Since 2010, the region has recorded 182 fatalities and 3,375 casualties from arson incidents
• Greater Manchester has reported 90,855 secondary fires* since 2010 – the highest of any UK region
• 2017/18 was the deadliest year in the dataset, recording 36 fatalities – nearly 20% of all deliberate fire-related deaths since 2010

Recent Trends in Arson Attacks

The report shows that while improvements have been made in recent years, Manchester continues to face significant challenges with arson incidents.

From 2022 to early 2025, Greater Manchester recorded 337 casualties and 18 fatalities from deliberate fires. While this represents a decrease from previous years, it still places Manchester among the most severely impacted regions nationally when compared to Greater London (768 casualties, 60 fatalities) and West Midlands (399 casualties, 20 fatalities).

Diverse Fire Types

Safety Group UK's analysis shows the diverse nature of deliberate fire incidents that Greater Manchester's emergency services respond to:

• 11,473 road vehicle fires
• 5,535 fires in other buildings
• 4,356 house fires

While the average of approximately 5,926 deliberate fires per year represents a decrease from peak years, it is still a high number – significantly impacting local communities and emergency services.

Recent Annual Fire Volumes

• 2022/23: 6,974 fires
• 2023/24: 5,434 fires
• 2024/25*: 5,871 fires

While the average of approximately 5,926 fires per year represents a decrease from peak years, it still represents an extraordinary demand on emergency services and a significant threat to local communities.

National Context

While ranking 1st nationally for deliberate fire volume with 39.36 arson incidents per day, Manchester has seen a decrease in deliberate fires over the last three years.

Manchester’s position compared to other high-incident regions:

Methodology

Fire incident data was collated from  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables#deliberate-fires-attended on deliberate fires by all England fire authorities. Analysis includes total deliberate fires, incident types, fatalities and casualties. "Fires per day" calculations are based on the three-year average divided by 1,095 days.

*Fires for 2025 include half the year as published on the Government website and the second half is forecasted based on 2023/2024 rates of increase.

*Fires including grass, bin, and outdoor blazes.