Ask a foreigner

[Friday]

In 2024 there were 136,702 fires in England, in total.

From your link? 603,942 FIRE INCIDENTS. In England. In total. Not 136k. But over 600k.

1.1 Key results​

In the year ending March 2025:

• fires accounted for 24% of the 603,942 incidents attended by FRSs compared with 23% in the previous year, 28% 5 years ago and 31% 10 years ago; Source: FIRE0102
• there were 83,513 outdoor fires, an increase of 5.3% compared with the previous year (79,277), a decrease of 4.7% compared with 5 years ago (87,643) and virtually unchanged compared with 10 years ago (83,505) (see Seasonal fire analyses)
• the month with the most fires attended by FRSs per day was August 2024 (an average of 538.0), in comparison the month with the most fires in year ending March 2024 was June 2023 (an average of 620.2); Source FIRE0802

Fire incidents are broadly categorised as primary, secondary or chimney fires, depending on the location, severity and risk levels of the fire, and on the scale of response needed from FRSs to contain them. Primary fires are those considered to be the most serious or with a threat to life or property. See Fire statistics definitions guidance for detailed definitions of types of fire

That’s why I disincluded Scotland & N.Ireland, by the by, in my quote. As only about 55% of fires in Scotland, and over 90% in N. Ireland (both with very high/low over all numbers) were deemed intentional / arson.

Still? ANY UK number, is freakishly high, per capita, compared to the American. Even if you cut your number to “meet” American numbers? Which all numbers far exceeds… total population of A vs Total population of B.

 

[gorgonzola]

My point is that the figure you cited for arson in England & Wales is fully 3x higher than the total number of fires in England, therefore fails the smell test.

From your link? 603,942 FIRES. In total.

From my link, there is no figure of 603,942 given for anything. There is a figure of 600,185 incidents that Fire and Rescue services responded to in 2024, of which fire false alarms were 42% and non-fire incidents 35%, leaving 23% as fires that were responded to which is the 136,702 fires figure.

You've got screwy numbers for UK arson because the statistics are reported together with all criminal damages of which arson is but a subtype, perhaps because it's all defined by the same piece of 1971 legislation.

ETA: 603,942 is the # of incidents responded to for the 12 months through March 2025, rather than calendar 2024 which was what was originally referred to.

 

[notsurewheretoturn]

If you're talking about Fire Service responses to fires, you also have to remember that the UK has a little thing called bonfire night (5th November) which significantly adds to the call out numbers from stray fireworks, bonfires getting out of hand etc. Although intentionally lit, they can't be called arson.

Ask any fire fighters in the UK and they will tell you its their busiest night of the year.

 

[Rose White]

A beautiful Benedictine monastery in my town shut down and luxury apartments were built up all around it while preserving the original buildings as restaurants, high-end shops, and a gym. The cathedral was turned into a nightclub. Is this an “only in America” kind of thing?

 

[Teasel]

Is this an “only in America” kind of thing?

No, very much not.

A lot of psychiatric hospital got shut down and turned into luxury flats. Churches into pubs etc etc

 

[Rose White]

Oh churches into pubs? Interesting. Yeah basically the same thing.

Funny how over here some shopping malls got turned into urban housing. And that felt so weird to me. One time I stayed in an air bnb that was an old store (in an old town that had something like a Main Street shopping district) and it was kind of uncomfortable with the big picture windows—even though they had curtains it reminded me of what it used to be and I thought of all the people coming in and out.

Idk why mixing places (church/nightclub, store/domicile) is unsettling to me. Traditionalist I suppose. Sometimes when I’m shopping in a store I picture it all empty. Or the same for neighborhoods, I see them all crumbled and vacant, or built over.

I think the shopping mall into homes is creepy to me because those stores have no window to the outside, their only windows are the storefront windows that look into the mall. It was an old mall in Rhode Island, one of the first indoor malls in the country I think.

 

[Teasel]

Sometimes when I’m shopping in a store I picture it all empty. Or the same for neighborhoods, I see them all crumbled and vacant, or built over.

Kind or imagining the future or?

 

[Rose White]

Yeah like imagining the future @Teasel

 

[Teasel]

I don't know very much about Mexican or Mexican ish food. I have a jar of this salsa, it tastes lovely, what might it go nicely with? Thanks

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&productId=1209934&langId=44&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=614143733&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%7Bsku%7D&utm_custom1=1140195378854819&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&msclkid=e3a6ad9f92b516345ec3c4a354341bb5&gclid=e3a6ad9f92b516345ec3c4a354341bb5&gclsrc=3p.ds&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23155031490

 

[Rose White]

@Teasel I think it would go good with pretty much any meat in a tortilla!

 

[Lost in the Woods]

Here is the Southwest restaurants give you salsa with breakfast, it is great on eggs with our without tortillas.

 

[Freddyt]

I don't know very much about Mexican or Mexican ish food. I have a jar of this salsa, it tastes lovely, what might it go nicely with? Thanks

In an omelette is good.