Dear Sir,

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS) hereby acknowledges receipt of
your request for information as detailed below, which is being actioned
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is now
receiving the Service’s attention and a response will normally be provided
within 20 working days.

Please note: During the COVID-19 pandemic resources may be diverted away
from usual compliance or information rights work and, therefore,
requesters may experience delays when making information rights requests.

To confirm, your request was received on 17^th August 2020 and you have
supplied an email address for response.

Yours faithfully,

Swyddog Rhyddid Gwybodaeth/Freedom of Information Officer
Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru/North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg - byddwn
yn ymateb yn gyfartal i’r ddwy ac yn ateb yn eich dewis iaith heb oedi.

We welcome correspondence and calls in Welsh and English - we will respond
equally to both and will reply in your language of choice without delay.

Gwnewch yn siŵr eich bod yn profi’ch larwm mwg yn rheolaidd. Os nad oes
gennych larwm, neu os ydy’ch larwm wedi torri, ffoniwch 0800 169 1234,
anfonwch e-bost i [1][email address]  neu ewch i 
[2]www.gwastan-gogcymru.org.uk am gyngor  ynglŷn â beth i’w wneud nesaf.

Please make sure that you regularly check your smoke alarm.  If you do not
have one, or find that the one that you do have is not working, call 0800
169 1234, e-mail [3][email address] or visit
[4]www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk for advice on what to do next

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Stephen Cole <[FOI #685044 email]>
Sent: 17 August 2020 07:37
To: FoI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data on balcony fires, in terms
of quantity and causes
 
Dear North Wales Fire and Rescue Service,

Please supply me with data relating to fires on balconies on residential
buildings in your area, as follows;

· How many balcony fires occurred in the prior three years (2017 to 2020)?
Please provide gross total and also breakdown by year.

· How many building fires occurred where balconies contributed to the
external spread of the fire?

· The ratio breakdown of identified/suspected causes of these balcony
fires (ie; barbecue, discarded cigarette, etc).

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Cole

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #685044 email]

Is [North Wales Fire and Rescue Service request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[6]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:

[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Dear Sir,

Further to your recent request for information made under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act, it is clear that North Wales Fire and Rescue
Service (NWFRS) will not be able to provide a response without
clarification of the information required.

NWFRS uses the national Home Office Incident Recording System (IRS) to
capture details of all emergency incidents attended, and the term
'balcony' is not available as a response to Question 8.14 of the IRS i.e.
'What type of room/compartment did the fire start in (location of
origin)?' Incidents which may have started in this area would be recorded
within the ‘other’ category. The options available in the IRS against this
question can be found on Page 81 of this document
-[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
A narrative search using the word ‘balcony’ has returned just 1 incident
within the period requested.
Do you still wish to proceed with this request?

Once you have clarified your request NWFRS will be able to prepare a
response.  If clarification is not received within three months your
request will be considered to have lapsed (under section 1(3) of the
Freedom of Information Act, a public authority need not comply with a
request unless any further information reasonably required to locate the
information is supplied).

Yours faithfully,

Swyddog Rhyddid Gwybodaeth/Freedom of Information Officer
Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru/North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg - byddwn
yn ymateb yn gyfartal i’r ddwy ac yn ateb yn eich dewis iaith heb oedi.

We welcome correspondence and calls in Welsh and English - we will respond
equally to both and will reply in your language of choice without delay.

Gwnewch yn siŵr eich bod yn profi’ch larwm mwg yn rheolaidd. Os nad oes
gennych larwm, neu os ydy’ch larwm wedi torri, ffoniwch 0800 169 1234,
anfonwch e-bost i [2][email address]  neu ewch i 
[3]www.gwastan-gogcymru.org.uk am gyngor  ynglŷn â beth i’w wneud nesaf.

Please make sure that you regularly check your smoke alarm.  If you do not
have one, or find that the one that you do have is not working, call 0800
169 1234, e-mail [4][email address] or visit
[5]www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk for advice on what to do next

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Stephen Cole <[FOI #685044 email]>
Sent: 17 August 2020 07:37
To: FoI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data on balcony fires, in terms
of quantity and causes
 
Dear North Wales Fire and Rescue Service,

Please supply me with data relating to fires on balconies on residential
buildings in your area, as follows;

· How many balcony fires occurred in the prior three years (2017 to 2020)?
Please provide gross total and also breakdown by year.

· How many building fires occurred where balconies contributed to the
external spread of the fire?

· The ratio breakdown of identified/suspected causes of these balcony
fires (ie; barbecue, discarded cigarette, etc).

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Cole

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #685044 email]

Is [North Wales Fire and Rescue Service request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[6]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:

[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Dear Sir,

Further to your recent request to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service
(NWFRS) made under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act regarding
incidents involving balconies on residential properties, the response from
NWFRS is as follows:

Please note that NWFRS uses the national Home Office Incident Recording
System (IRS) to capture details of all emergency incidents attended, and
the term 'balcony' is not available as a response to Question 8.14 of
the IRS i.e. 'What type of room/compartment did the fire start in
(location of origin)?' Incidents which may have started in this area
would be recorded within the ‘other’ category. The options available in
the IRS against this question can be found on Page 81 of this document
-[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...

A narrative search using the word ‘balcony’ has returned just 1 incident
within the period requested.

How many balcony fires occurred in the prior three years (2017 to 2020)?
Please provide gross total and also breakdown by year.

One in 2018

How many building fires occurred where balconies contributed to the
external spread of the fire?

The IRS database captures the room of origin, where the fire started and
then a reason for any spread of the fire.  A room itself (i.e. balcony)
would not be the cause for the fire spread, but rather flammable
articles contained within that room.

The ratio breakdown of identified/suspected causes of these balcony
fires (ie; barbecue, discarded cigarette, etc).

The one incident was caused by deliberate ignition.

If you are dissatisfied with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review by writing to:

The Freedom of Information Officer
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters
Ffordd Salesbury
St Asaph Business Park
St Asaph
Denbighshire
LL17 0JJ

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours faithfully,

Swyddog Rhyddid Gwybodaeth/Freedom of Information Officer
Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru/North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau yn y Gymraeg a’r Saesneg - byddwn
yn ymateb yn gyfartal i’r ddwy ac yn ateb yn eich dewis iaith heb oedi.

We welcome correspondence and calls in Welsh and English - we will respond
equally to both and will reply in your language of choice without delay.

Gwnewch yn siŵr eich bod yn profi’ch larwm mwg yn rheolaidd. Os nad oes
gennych larwm, neu os ydy’ch larwm wedi torri, ffoniwch 0800 169 1234,
anfonwch e-bost i [3][email address]  neu ewch
i  [4]www.gwastan-gogcymru.org.uk am gyngor  ynglŷn â beth i’w wneud
nesaf.

Please make sure that you regularly check your smoke alarm.  If you do not
have one, or find that the one that you do have is not working, call 0800
169 1234, e-mail [5][email address] or
visit [6]www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk for advice on what to do next.

From: Stephen Cole <[FOI #685044 email]>
Sent: 17 August 2020 07:37
To: FoI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Data on balcony fires, in terms
of quantity and causes
 
Dear North Wales Fire and Rescue Service,

Please supply me with data relating to fires on balconies on residential
buildings in your area, as follows;

· How many balcony fires occurred in the prior three years (2017 to 2020)?
Please provide gross total and also breakdown by year.

· How many building fires occurred where balconies contributed to the
external spread of the fire?

· The ratio breakdown of identified/suspected causes of these balcony
fires (ie; barbecue, discarded cigarette, etc).

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Cole

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #685044 email]

Is [North Wales Fire and Rescue Service request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service? If so, please
contact us using this form:

[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:

[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections