Our Community

Although Gloucestershire has an affluent and successful economy, which is generally true, it is not evenly shared.

There is evidence to show a link between social deprivation and the occurrence of fire, and as such our prevention and protection work, as well as our emergency response has to be tailored to the differing needs of each community that we serve.

To ensure that we meet the needs of Gloucestershire and our local communities, it is essential that we make sure that we have the right people, with the right equipment, in the right place and at the right time. To enable this, we need to understand the diverse risks and impacts within our area.

Deprivation

There are 12 neighbourhoods in Gloucestershire that are in the top 10% most deprived nationally. This accounts for 19,415 people, or 3.1% of the county’s population.

Population growth

Between 2009 and 2019, the population of Gloucestershire has grown by 7.9%, and it's predicted we will see a growth of 7.3% between 2019 and 2028. It is also expected that we will need 32,000 new homes in the county by 2031.

Economic factors

The estimated cost of one fire death is over £1.65 million.

It is estimated to cost £1,488,960 for a three-lane motorway closure lasting up to four hours.

Environmental and climate impacts

We have 123 sites of Special Scientific Interest.

In the three years to 31 March 2020, GFRS attended 346 flooding incidents.

Transport

In the three years to 31 March 2020, there were a total of 708 Road Traffic Collision (RTC) incidents attended by GRFS.

There are 3,326 miles of road in Gloucestershire.

Children under the age of 15 are most likely to be involved in RTC’s as pedestrians.