Civic in the line of fire

Figures show Central Canberra was responsible for 22.5 per cent of the 12,000 ACT Fire & Rescue callouts last financial year.

Belconnen (19.5 per cent) and South Canberra (14.7 per cent) also accounted for a high number of incidents.

ACT rural lands (0.4 per cent) and the Queanbeyan area (0.6 per cent) were responsible for the lowest number of emergencies, while Weston Creek (3.5 per cent) recorded the fewest callouts of all ACT suburbs.

An ACT Fire & Rescue spokesman said: ''Distribution of calls across the regions of Canberra tends to be higher in areas with greater building density.''

Overall, the total number of ACT Fire & Rescue responses increased from 11,130 in 2009-10 to 11,914 in 2010-11.

Automatic fire alarms contributed to more than half all callouts.

The spokesman said many of the responses were avoidable.

''Almost one-third of all automated fire alarm calls resulted from faulty equipment,'' he said.

''In cases where alarm calls are due to a faulty system, ACT Fire & Rescue charge a fee, [$597 for a commercial premises], for the third call in a 90-day period.

''Having a well-maintained and reliable fire detection system is the most effective way of reducing ACT Fire & Rescue attendance at avoidable false alarms.''

Firefighters were given a reprieve from battling blazes, with the number of fires decreasing from 1400 to 900.

Part of the drop was a result of wet weather, with the number of bush and grass fires falling almost 50 per cent.

However, extreme weather-related callouts jumped from 1062 to 1467.

Hazardous conditions, including hazardous materials incidents, more than doubled, leaping from 218 to 473.

Prank calls and false alarms accounted for more than 1000 callouts.

''Reducing the number of avoidable false alarms increases the ability of all emergency services to respond in a timely and effective manner to genuine emergencies,'' the spokesman said.

''It is important in ensuring community safety that all calls are treated seriously and responded to in prompt and effective manner.

''ACT Fire & Rescue understands that the percentage of calls attended that do not result in fire or other emergency incident in the ACT is similar to other like jurisdictions.''

The number of medical assists and rescues remained steady at about 1500.