Fires remain a danger in Jamaica, destroying homes, businesses and livelihoods each year.

In 2025, the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) responded to 11,048 genuine fire calls, many of which were linked to preventable causes.

According to the JFB, many fires stem from preventable human actions, such as open burning and discarded cigarettes. The leading factor was careless use of fire, a category that includes garbage burning, land clearing, and unsafe handling of flames.

“We saw 2,731 such cases. That’s an increase of 29 per cent over the previous year,” JFB Commissioner, Stewart Beckford, tells JIS News.

Beyond open burning, everyday activities can also spark fires when safety is ignored.

Commissioner Beckford reported that in 2025, discarded cigarette butts caused 388 fires, while electrical short circuits accounted for 534 incidents.

He noted that 125 suspected arson cases were recorded last year, an 8.6 per cent increase compared to 2024. Other causes included 182 cases of spontaneous ignition, 41 accidental sources, 34 mechanical sources, and five fires from natural events.

While the Brigade identified the causes of many fire incidents in 2025, a significant number remain untraceable.

“Of the 11,048 genuine fire calls that we responded to, we were not able to determine the cause of these fires in 706 of those cases, and this is a slight increase of eight per cent over the previous year,” Commissioner Beckford reveals.

Meanwhile, the financial toll of fires is staggering. Commissioner Beckford reports that in 2025, property losses reached an estimated $9.8 billion, while properties valued at approximately $446.8 billion were considered at risk.

Importantly, the JFB’s efforts saved about $436.9 billion worth of property during the year. These figures highlight both the scale of the threat and the critical importance of prevention.

With so many ignition sources linked to human activity, the responsibility for reducing fire risk lies largely in everyday choices, whether it’s avoiding open burning, disposing of cigarettes safely, or practising caution with electrical systems.

Commissioner Beckford explains that small, seemingly controlled fires often spread quickly beyond their limits.  He recalls a case where a home was destroyed, pointing out that, “embers…somewhere down the road travelled by wind and caught this house on fire”.

Commissioner Beckford warns that such fires are common, especially in dry, windy conditions. “The risk with that is [if] you are burning here…[and] there is strong wind blowing, the possibility of ember sparks leaving where you are and travelling up to a kilometre away and catching somewhere else on fire is real. That is what we have seen happening occasionally,” he advises.

Firefighters have also encountered cases where burning to clear pests or vegetation led to major losses. “We have seen instances where persons are burning wasps, and they burn down their house. That has become a common one… we have seen too many incidents of that,” the JFB Chief says.

Against this background, Commissioner Beckford urges persons who burn to stay mindful of their surroundings.