World Fire Statistics Centre (WFSC)
History and Objects
During 1975-78, the Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (commonly known as "The Geneva Association"), a body supported by major international insurance companies in a number of leading countries to undertake research on the interface between insurance and its economic environment, sponsored research into European fire costs by Tom Wilmot at Sussex University. This led to the publication of a report, European Fire Costs – The Wasteful Statistical Gap, which formed the basis for a contribution by Mr Wilmot to a pilot study on fire statistics initiated by a United Nations Working Party in 1981. Subsequently Mr Wilmot, with the support of The Geneva Association, founded the World Fire Statistics Centre to carry forward this work within a more structured organisational framework.
The objects of the Centre are concerned not so much with academic research but with the practical problem of reducing fire waste. The main focus of its work, the collection, analysis and dissemination of internationally comparable fire cost statistics, is thus seen very much as a means to an end: persuading governments to adopt coherent fire strategies aimed at reducing national fire costs.
Activities
Statistics
Each year the Centre collects and collates fire cost statistics under seven main headings from a steadily increasing number of leading countries worldwide, mainly from Europe but also including, for example, the USA, Japan and Canada. The Czech Republic, Slovenia and Singapore are the latest adherents.
Each annual report from the Centre to the UN forms the basis for a Bulletin with a worldwide circulation of over 300 to relevant government departments, fire protection associations, fire brigades, insurance companies, fire engineers, the trade press and academic fire experts. These statistics have often proved of use during national reviews of various aspects of fire-related expenditure or organisation; for example the Audit Commission review of the fire services in England & Wales, a Greek study of building protection, a Norwegian study of the incidence of large fires in industry and a New Zealand examination of the risks of death and injury arising from fire. In addition, the Centre's statistics are often referred to in academic works, for example The Economics of Fire Protection (Prof. G. Ramachandran, Routledge, 1998).
Seminars
The Geneva Association has organised international seminars every three to four years, generally in Geneva, in order to enable the Centre's latest work to be presented and discussed and to provide a forum for other fire experts working in related fields. Over the years the Centre has been represented at many international conferences, e.g. the International Fire Symposium organised in Luxembourg in 1984 by the EC Commission, in liaison with the European Association of Professional Fire Brigade Officers and the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations - Europe. During more recent years, the Centre has attached increased emphasis to publicising its work, both by issuing a number of press releases and by giving a series of papers or talks at meetings and seminars in Prague, Nottingham, Helsinki, Oslo, Boston, Madrid, Melbourne, Hanover, Singapore, Krakow, Vienna and Minneapolis.
European Initiatives
The Centre has for some years been trying to interest the EC Commission and the European Parliament in the inter-related issues of fire protection and fire costs. Despite some initially promising contacts, these approaches had until recently achieved little success. However, a European fire statistics seminar organised jointly with the Federation of European Union Fire Officers Associations (FEU) in Augsburg on 19th June 2000 ended with agreement on the establishment of a core group, to which the Centre is providing the secretariat, to develop proposals for a European fire statistics database to meet the needs of likely users, and this offers the prospect of concrete progress in a direction which the European Commission could support.
Publications
The World Fire Statistics Centre publishes a newsletter, World Fire Statistics - Information Bulletin of the World Fire Statistics Centre, which appears annually. It presents statistics on national fire costs from over 20 leading countries in an effort to persuade governments to adopt strategies aimed at reducing the cost of fire. It has been published since March 1984. To suscribe click here.
For further information on the World Fire Statistics Centre contact:
Mr. Tony Paish,
32 Westmoreland Road,
London SW13 9RY;
Tel. +44 208 748 1899;
Fax +44 208 255 7903;
Email: wfsc@genevaassociation.org