Fire and rescue staff in Dorset and Wiltshire responded to almost 1,000 more incidents last year, compared to the year before.

Deliberate fires went up over the period with an increase in road traffic accidents where response times showed a slight improvement.

Overall, the service responded to 14,668 incidents, compared to 13,858 in 2021/22; attending 3,377 fires, 927 which were classed as deliberate, compared to 743 in 2021/22.

The service attended 711 road traffic collisions, up from 595 in 2021/22, and rescued 365 people – fewer than in the previous year when the figure was 384.

Non-fire related calls amounted to 4,571, broadly similar to the previous year, with service staff supporting partner agencies at 703 incidents involving a person who had collapsed behind closed doors, up from 600 in 2021/22.

The service says that it bettered a corporate target to achieve a 10-minute response time, including call handling and travel time, to fire where there is a sleeping risk, such as residential homes.

Performance for 2022/23 showed an average response time of nine minutes and 13 seconds, compared to nine minutes and 24 seconds in 2021/22.

The average response time for the first appliance attending road traffic collisions, including call handling and travel time, was 11 minutes and 59 seconds in 2022/23, compared to 12 minutes and six seconds in 2021/22.

The service says that all failures to meet the response standards are investigated to see if there were any contributing factors that are in our control that could be improved.

The joint authority was created in 2016 with responsibility for 1.5 million residents, covering 2,500 square miles.

It has 50 fire stations, a service headquarters in Salisbury, support offices in Potterne and Poundbury, Dorchester and training centres in Devizes and West Moors, and vehicle workshops in Charminster and Melksham.