2.Fires

[1] Cases of fire and fatalities

Cases of fire outbreak during 2016 amounted to 849 incidents, representing decrease over the previous year of 21 cases. (Osaka's worst figures for outbreaks of fire were those for 1961, when 2,819 incidents were recorded.) Fatalities resulting from fire amounted to 26 (not including the number of cases of deliberate incendiarism for the purpose of suicide), a year-on-year increase of 2 deaths. The number of cases of deliberate incendiarism for the purpose of suicide was 6, a year-on-year increase of 3. The number of people injured in fires amounted to some 182, a year-on-year increase of 34.

Section		2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Number of fires		849	870	-21
Casualties (details below)		214	175	39
**	Fatalities	32	27	5
**	Excluding incendiary suicides	26	24	2
**	Incendiary suicides	6	3	3
**	Injured	182	148	34

[2] Fires categorized

In terms of the type of fire, the number of fires involving buildings totaled 613 cases (a year-on-year decrease of 31 cases), while fires involving vehicles amounted to some 66 cases (a year-on-year increase of 16 cases).

Section	2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Fires involving buildings	613	644	-31
Fires involving vehicles	66	50	16
Fires involving boats and shipping	0	2	-2
Explosions	3	1	2
Other types of fire	167	173	-6
Total	849	870	-21

[3] Categorized causes of fire

In terms of the different causes of fire, the leading cause was arson (including cases of suspected arson), cases of which amounted to 174 (a year-on-year decrease of 42 case). Arson (including suspected cases) accounted for 20.5% of all fires. Arson (including suspected cases) has consistently been the leading cause of fire every year since 1976 (Up until 1975, cigarettes had been the number-one cause of fires for nine consecutive years). It is crucial that the bodies concerned, whether local authorities, businesses, or administrative organs, unite in an ongoing effort to eliminate incendiarism from our society.

Section	2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Arson (including suspected cases of arson)	174	214	-42
Cigarettes	138	136	2
Electrical wiring kinds	70	64	6
Gas cookers	63	88	-25
Deep-frying oil and fat	53	64	-11
Other causes	351	304	47
Total	849	870	-21

[4] Area damaged by fire / financial loss from fire

The area damaged by fire amounted to 5,409 square meters (a year-on-year increase of 607 square meters) whereas the financial loss incurred totaled 584,098 thousand yen (a year-on-year increase of 157,015 thousand yen).

Section		2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Area damaged by fire	Area	5,409	4,802	607
	Per outbreak of fire involving buildings	8.8	7.4	1.4
Financial loss	Financial loss (thousand yen)	584,098	427,083	157,015
	Per outbreak of fire (thousand yen)	688.0	490.9	197.1

[5] Breakdown by month

In terms of the number of outbreaks of fire per month, cases of fire were numerous in December (84 cases),while September saw the fewest cases of fire (49 cases).

Month		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Number	2016(a)	81	78	76	72	80	57	63	62	49	66	81	84
	2015(b)	71	72	106	66	64	63	75	63	54	83	74	79
	(a-b)	10	6	-30	6	16	-6	-12	-1	-5	-17	7	5

3.Ambulance emergencies

[1] Number of missions and persons transported

Ambulances went on a total of 226,048 missions (a year-on-year increase of 6,172 cases), transporting a total of 183,115 (a year-on-year increase of 5,001 cases). Converted to a daily average, the figures reveal that ambulance crews were mobilized some 618 times per day (once every 2.4 minutes ) and that some 501 people were transported by ambulance daily.

Section	2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Number of missions	226,048	219,876	6,172
Number of people transported	183,115	178,114	5,001

[2] Types of emergency

A breakdown of ambulance missions by type of emergency reveals that the top-ranking form of emergency was sudden illness, which accounted for 152,175 cases (a year-on-year increase of 4,478 cases) and constituted 67.3% of all emergencies. Coming second were cases of general injury, which amounted to 36,541 incidents (a year-on-year increase of 1,451 cases) and constituted 16.1% of all emergencies. In third place were traffic accidents, which totaled 15,492 incidents (a year-on-year decrease of 337 cases) and accounted for 6.8% of all emergencies.

Section	2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Total	226,048	219,876	6,172
Sudden illness	152,175	147,697	4,478
General injury	36,541	35,090	1,451
Traffic accidents	15,492	15,829	-337
Inflicted injury	2,861	2,912	-51
Self-inflicted injury	2,283	2,235	48
Labor-related injury	1,430	1,385	45
Fire-related	934	913	21
Sport-related	989	1016	-27
Flood-related	79	90	-11
Natural disaster	14	5	9
Others	13,250	12,704	540

4.Life-saving and rescue

Fire-fighting crews performed 3,121 rescue missions, including accidents inside and outside buildings, traffic accidents, labor-related accidents, and other life-threatening situations. This figure represented an increase of 168 incidents over the previous year. People rescued as a result of these life-saving activities amounted to 1,249 individuals in a total of 102 cases. The most numerous rescue missions involved building-related accidents, which amounted to 2,151 incidents, a year-on-year increase of 116. These missions resulted in 909 people being saved in a total of 905 incidents. Just one illustration of a building-related accident would be activities to aid individuals having collapsed for some reason or other inside locked rooms.

Section	2016(a)	2015(b)	(a-b)
Total	3,121	2,953	168
Building-related emergencies	2,151	2,035	116
Traffic accidents	191	202	-11
Water-related emergencies	105	113	-8
Elevator-related accidents	32	37	-5
Machinery-related accidents	25	21	4
Gas-related accidents	20	24	-4
Others	597	521	76

5.Non-Fire,non-ambulance and non-rescue-related emergencies

Section 2016(a) 2015(b) (a-b) Total 2,402 2,495 -93 Hazard elimination Subtotal 1,137 1,186 -49 Hazardous materials 651 708 -57 Gas leaks 109 85 24 Incidents involving collapses 106 141 -35 Suspicious odors 47 63 -16 Drainage 98 87 11 Others 117 102 15 Levee protection operations 9 7 2 Other fire-fighting activities 1,265 1,302 -37

[1] Hazard elimination

Missions to remove potential hazards and risks and thus prevent disaster amounted to 1,137 cases, a decrease of 49 incidents over the previous year. Almost half of these were accounted for by emergencies involving the discharge of hazardous material, which amounted to 651 cases, a decrease of 57 cases over the previous year. The greater part of these emergencies involving discharge of hazardous material entailed accidents in which vehicle collisions had resulted in the discharge of fuel (gasoline, diesel, etc.) onto the road surface.

[2] Levee protection operations

Missions to prevent storm and flood-related damage by surveying and issuing cautions against rising river water levels due to rainfall etc., as well as the encroachment of water into homes, amounted to 9 cases, an increase of 2 incidents over the previous year. There is no telling when such disaster will strike. To safeguard against such eventualities, it is a good idea to keep in readiness such items as a radio set, flashlights, emergency food supplies, and other emergency tools and supplies.

[3] Other fire-fighting activities

Cases in which crews set out in response to reports of fire but which were not ultimately recorded as such amounted, along with other similar instances, to some 1,265 incidents, a decrease of 37 cases over the previous year. Missions mainly involve smoke emissions from scorched pans left unattended on stoves. Although such cases may only result in a ruined meal at best, if left alone longer, such instances can result in fire. We urge the utmost care whenever you are handling fire. *Apart from such cases, crews set out on 3,393 missions in response to calls that eventually proved to be erroneous or false reports. This figure represented a decrease of 58 over the previous year. Please ensure, therefore, that you check the facts carefully before reporting an emergency or disaster.