What Can Search Data Tell Us About Fire Safety

Search data can give us unique insight into the minds of the general public - both in the UK and across the world. 

In this study, we look at search data around the term ‘fire safety’ and pose some questions: What causes people to search for ‘fire safety’? Do major events have an impact on search volumes? Is more fire safety awareness leading to fewer fires overall? 

Using data from Google Trends and the Government, we will illustrate how searches reveal an increasing awareness of the importance of fire safety over the past 10 years.

Let’s investigate. 

Key findings: 

1. There have been 19k searches for ‘fire safety’ in the UK in the past month — up 8% YoY, and up 10% QoQ.
2. Interest in fire safety bills & regulations is seeing significant growth  
3. Search data indicates an increased interest in fire safety following Grenfell Tower fire
4. Search interest around ‘fire safety’ shows significant decline in month of December
5. The number of primary fires in the UK has declined over the past decade
6. 193k global searches for the term ‘fire safety’ in the last month

There have been 19k searches for ‘fire safety’ in the UK in the past month — up 8% YoY, and up 10% QoQ.

In the UK, in the past 5 years, the highest recorded search volume days for the term ‘fire safety’ were: 

• 17th September 2023 - 5,830 searches 
• 25th April 2021 - 5,771 searches
• 24th September 2023 - 5,713 searches
• 29th October 2023 - 5,655 searches 
• 29th January 2021 - 5,538 searches

These dates directly correlate with major fire-related stories in the UK news - from the lithium battery blaze at an Essex warehouse in September 2023, to the arson blaze on Marsden Moor in April 2021. 

Interest in fire safety bills & regulations is seeing significant growth 

There has been a noticeable increase in terms relating to more recent fire safety bills and regulations over the past 5 years, including the following specific terms:

The percentage increase in these rising terms over the past 5 years is as follows: 

• fire safety act 2021 - 84250%
• fire safety regulations 2022 - 37350%
• fire safety act 2022 - 37000%
• pocmar - 28150%
• building safety act 2022  -  21750%
• fire safety bill 2021 -  18400%
• fire safety regulations 2023 -  18400%

Search data indicates an increased interest in fire safety following Grenfell Tower fire

If we look at search data for the past 20 years, we can see that search interest around ‘fire safety’ was on the decline, until a peak in June 2017 - which coincides with the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK. Since then, we’re able to see a steady increase in the number of searches for fire safety related terms.

Search interest around ‘fire safety’ shows a significant decline in month of December

Over the past 5 years, December has repeatedly been the month with the fewest searches for fire safety. While this does correlate with a general decrease in computer usage over the festive period; the UK Government data shows that domestic fires are most frequent during December between 6pm and 8pm - showing that this awareness drop could tie to an increase in fire incidents as a result. 

The number of primary fires in the UK has declined over past decade

When we look at the previous 10 years of data on the total number of primary fires in UK dwellings, we can see a significant decline:

• 2013/14 31,912
• 2014/15 31,337
• 2015/16 31,376
• 2016/17 30,353
• 2017/18 30,821
• 2018/19 29,596
• 2019/20 28,503
• 2020/21 27,017
• 2021/22 27,171
• 2022/23 26,822

Primary fires are defined as more serious fires that harm people or cause damage to property.

In fact, the only break in the pattern is around 2017 - again, the time of the Grenfell Tower disaster. While it would be good to attribute a rising interest in ‘fire safety’ - as evidenced by search data - to a decrease in primary fires, gov.uk data shows that this decline was already underway by 2017, when search interest began to pick up. 

193k global searches for the term ‘fire safety’ in the last month

The keyword ‘fire safety’ experiences the highest global interest in October, potentially due to campaigns during the National Fire Prevention Week that falls in this month. The interest declines sharply afterwards and remains relatively low for the rest of the year, with only a mild surge in March. The lowest interest is seen in May and December - a common thread across both UK and worldwide data.

For more expert fire safety insights, head to FireSealsDirect’s Advice Centre.