When Is The Most Fire-Prone Time Of Day?

A fire can strike at any time—even when least expecting it. But is there a time of day when fires are the most likely to start?

Examined official government data from 2010 to 2023 which recorded the number of fires by hour of the day in England to find the following:

• Fires are most common between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm in the evening.
• Fires are least common between 6:00 am and 7:00 am in the morning.

Visualize the data in the charts below. On the x-axis, can find a year-on-year comparison, while the y-axis shows the number of individual fires each year.

Passive fire protection products

For businesses, this hotspot window is outside of standard working hours, at a time when employees are likely to be out of the workplace. With this in mind, how can protect the business?

Passive fire protection products such as drop-down seals and intumescent strips work on their own, regardless of whether anyone is present or not. They don’t need ‘activation’ as they respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, and work to contain fire for a certain period of time, reducing the rate at which it spreads. By ‘buying’ more time, there is a greater window for workplace fires that occur out of hours to be noticed and dealt with, but with less damage being done to the building.