[AlabamaBoyz]

There was an average increase of 32 per cent per month in fire accidents in 2011 when compared to the previous year, according to statistics available from across the state.
No fireman was killed while on duty in recent years, but as many as 75 people were killed in various fires in 2011.

As many as 20,149 calls were received at the fire control rooms in the state during the first 10 months of 2011 as compared to a total of 18,311 calls being received in 2010.

“In the first 10 months of 2011, the number of lives lost stood at 38. The number of people who died in fire accidents last year is relatively less when compared to the previous year,” a fire and rescue official said.
As many as 2,701 lives were saved by rescue teams all over the state in that

period of 2011, according to statistics. “As many as 1,566 lives were lost in rescue calls during the first 10 months of last year,” the official said.
Fire control statistics show that property worth more than `26 crore was lost in fires, while rescue teams managed to salvage property worth `358 crore in 2011. In 2010, the numbers stood at `24 crore and `335 crore.

Since 1985, when a total of 8,795 cases of fire accidents were reported in the state, the number has been steadily increasing and crossed 10,000 in 1987. Eleven years later in 1998, the number crossed the 15,000 mark.

-dc chn