Jamaica recorded 42 deaths while nearly 2,000 persons were impacted as a result of fires in 2021. Three of those killed were children, four of them were injured while 502 were listed among the homeless.

The 42 deaths represent an increase of eleven over the 31 recorded in 2020.

The statistics are contained in the 2021 edition of the Economic and Social Survey (ESSJ), a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica. They show that the total number of genuine fire calls received by the Jamaica Fire Brigade in 2021 stood at 8,003. This was a 21.6 per cent decrease relative to the previous year.

Similar to 2020, the largest number of genuine fire calls occurred in Kingston and St Andrew (1,642), followed by St Catherine (1,539).

Decreases were recorded in all parishes with the exception of St James, which showed an increase of 6.2 per cent.

According to the survey, the largest decrease was observed in Portland (70.9 percent), followed by Hanover (51.8 per cent) and St Mary (51.1 per cent).

“The group ‘civilian adults’ bore the brunt of fire impact, followed by ‘children’. Overall, 1,901 persons were impacted, 105 more than in 2020, representing a 5.8 per cent increase,” the survey said. There were 86 injuries as a result of fires; this is three fewer than the 89 recorded in the previous year.

Meanwhile, persons rendered homeless by fire increased to 1, 773 from 1,676 while the number of structural and non-structural fires decreased by 4.1 per cent and 24.5 per cent, respectively. Non-structural fires accounted for 82.5 per cent of the total fires reported.

“The decrease in non-structural fires was mainly attributable to a reduction in the occurrence of fire on farms/cultivated land, and bush fires, which fell by 34.4 per cent and 34.7 per cent, respectively,” said the survey.

However, while there was an overall decrease in the occurrence of structural fires, there was an increase of 12.4 per cent in fires at commercial buildings.

And, climate change could be influencing fires as, according to the survey, annual changes in the incidence of bush fires were assessed against the volume of average annual rainfall and showed that increases in bush fires occurred mostly in periods of drier conditions. However, while the country experienced drier conditions in 2021, there was a decrease in the number of bush fires.

More than 70.0 per cent of bush fires occurred in the first half of the year when dry conditions prevailed. Bush fires were most prevalent in St Catherine (863), Kingston & St Andrew (430) and Clarendon (416), which experienced drier conditions, as indicated by parish mean rainfall volumes and drought indices.