FIRES in Lewisham and Greenwich have dramatically dropped over the past decade, according to the London Fire Brigade’s latest figures.

The number of blazes in Greenwich has more than halved over 10 years with a 56 per cent decrease since 2001.

There were 2,707 fires in 2001 – an average of seven each day – compared to 1,185 in 2011.

Lewisham has also seen the number of fires fall by almost a half with around two blazes each day in 2011 compared to four in 2001.

There has been a 47 per cent drop in Lewisham from 1,608 fires in 2001 to 856 in 2011.

Fire chiefs say the decrease is due to the hard work of firefighters as well as increased targeting of those at risk of fire.

London Fire Brigade borough commander for Greenwich Andy Rickard said: “These figures show that people in Greenwich are less likely to have a fire than ever before and local residents are far safer as a result.

“The London Fire Brigade has worked incredibly hard to make the borough safer. Using a sophisticated approach, it has targeted those people who are more likely to have a fire and provided them with potentially life saving advice and smoke alarms.”

London Fire Brigade borough commander for Lewisham Lee King added: “People in Lewisham are really benefitting from the hard work of our firefighters.

"However, whilst the borough has become a safer place there is no room for complacency. Brigade chiefs are committed to keeping local residents even safer, not least by preventing fires from happening in the first place.”