ORGANISERS of a campaign to reduce fire and road deaths and save an estimated 365 lives in 10 years say they have passed the target two years early.

The 365alive campaign says it has saved an estimated 386 lives since 2006 through education and safety initiatives, fire bosses said.

The 39 fire and 477 road deaths from 1995 to 2005 fell to 17 and 234 respectively from 2006 to 2014 – a drop of 265.

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Campaign organisers said they had calculated lives saved using a formula to measure the reduction in fires and road accidents resulting in serious injury year-on-year, and the associated potential loss of life and monetary costs.

There were 7,542 domestic and non-domestic fires in Oxfordshire between 1995-2005, resulting in 39 fatalities, along with 477 deaths and 3,235 serious injuries from road traffic collisions.

In the period from the launch of 365alive in October 2006 to April 2014, there were 5,379 domestic and non-domestic fires which led to 17 fatalities in the county.

There were 234 deaths and 2,368 serious injuries because of accidents on Oxfordshire's roads during that period.

The reductions mean the cost of dealing with road accidents and fires has been cut by £1.34m and 840,000 people have been educated.

Oxfordshire’s Chief Fire Officer Dave Etheridge said: “Lives in Oxfordshire have definitely been saved as a result of this campaign.

“The 365alive campaign came about from our determination to reduce the number of people killed in fires and on the roads, as well as making sure we preserve a life when someone is trapped in a building.

“In 2006 there were 68 people killed on Oxfordshire’s roads – last year the total was 19.

“As a result of our actions we have also halved the number of people who have died in house fires.

“Thanks to the campaign there are more than 365 families who are still intact as a result.

“I joined the fire service 28 years ago and when I joined we waited for incidents to occur. Now we are driven by prevention and protection.”

He said: “The elderly and infirm are the most vulnerable group dying in fires, so we share a database with adult social care so that when someone comes on our radar we set up a home fire risk assessment to keep people safe in their own home. That has halved the incidents of fire deaths in the past eight years.”

Mr Etheridge said a new scheme would be launched in two years’ time, adding: “This has worked so well we don’t want to stop.”

It has now raised its annual target for 36 lives saved to 45.

One of the schemes helping 365alive is the Junior Citizens Trust Oxfordshire, led from Oxford’s Rewley Road fire station.

Year Six pupils are shown mocked-up practical emergency and safety situations like a dummy on a railway track.

Others include the Test It Tuesday campaign, which urges weekly checks on smoke alarms and cycle training for primary school-aged youngsters.

Eynsham mum-of-two Nicci Saunders, 41, became an ambassador for road safety charity Brake after partner Joe Wilkins, a part-time firefighter, was killed on his bike near Appleton in 2012.

Paul Brown, then 30, of Oxford Road, Eynsham, was sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid community work and banned from driving for 12 months in September last year after admitting causing death by careless driving.

She said: “Anything that saves lives has to be a positive thing and the fire service should definitely keep going with this.”

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