‘Hot work’ fires still posing “major risk” according to ONS data

The ONS wanted to uncover the number of fires where the source of ignition was from a ‘hot work’ activity (such as from a blow lamp or welding equipment) across each of England's Fire and Rescue Service areas.

During the 2023-2024 financial year, there were 199 ‘hot work’-related fires recorded, 85% of which were caused by welding or cutting. Looking at the corresponding figures for 2024-2025, the number of ‘hot work’ fires fell by 9%, with a total of 182 fires caused by ‘hot work’ activities in England (1.3% of all non-dwelling fires).

However, as was the case in 2023-2024, 85% of fires in 2024-2025 were sparked by welding or cutting, highlighting the fact that these activities continue to be the predominant source of ‘hot work’-related incidents.

Appraising how many of these fires occurred in the construction industry, in 2023-2024, 12 fires broke out in buildings under construction, while there were eight incidents of fire outbreak in 2024-2025.

Across both financial years, a total of 32 fires relating to ‘hot works’ realised at least one casualty/fatality at the scene of the incident, with 19 in 2023-2024 and 13 in 2024-2025.

Results from the regions

The data also highlights which Fire and Rescue Service regions in England recorded the most ‘hot work’-related fires in 2024-2025. The regions with the highest proportion of ‘hot work’ fires, compared with all non-dwelling fires that year, were Cumbria (4.55%), Derbyshire (4.06%), Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (3.85%), North Yorkshire (3.57%) and Hereford and Worcester (3.5%).

The London Fire Brigade reported the highest number of ‘hot work’ fires with a total of 14 incidents. However, this only accounted for 0.81% of all non-dwelling fires recorded in the region.

In comparison, the five regions with the highest percentage of ‘hot work’ fires in 2023-2024 were Northumberland (4.6%), Hertfordshire (3.98%), Devon and Somerset (3.91%), West Yorkshire (3%) and North Yorkshire (2.93%).

Managerial oversight

Gary Ellis, managing director of CE Safety, commented: “While the number of fires related to ‘hot works’ don’t contribute to a huge percentage of the total number of fires in England every year, our analysis of data from the ONS still shows that these highly dangerous incidents do still happen consistently every year. Although there was a drop in the number of ‘hot work’-related fires in 2024-2025, it was only small and there’s still a significant number of such fires being attended. These fires should be near enough avoidable.”

Ellis continued: “There’s often a lack of managerial oversight of ‘hot work’ activities. The requirements for a fire risk assessment and ‘hot work’ permit are well known, but in many cases they’re generic and treated more like a paper exercise by both the client and the contractor. The data we’ve presented here shows that proper practices should always be put in place when conducting ‘hot works’, thereby ensuring everyone has received comprehensive fire training for safety purposes.”

Statistics in full

The study analysed ‘other building’ fire incident data from the ONS across all 43 of England’s Fire and Rescue Services for the financial years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, examining a total number of 26,431 fire incidents.

As stated, the research analysed the total number of fires where the source of ignition related to a ‘hot work’ activity, as well as fires that occurred in buildings that were registered as being ‘under construction’.

*Access the full statistics online at https://cesafety.co.uk/news/latest-figures-regions-with-the-most-hot-work-fires-2023-2025/