The number of calls Essex Fire Service received over the last year dropped by 13 per cent.
In the 12 months leading up to the end of March 2013 the service attended 14,081 incidents compared to 16,139 in the same period the year before.
Calls to small outdoor fires dropped by 75 per cent, but calls to flooding were up by 151 - both rises attributed to the increased rainfall the county saw last year.
Hoax calls were also down over the last 12 months from 306 to 268, which is drastically lower than a decade ago, which was as many as 1,599.
Divisional officer for community safety, Neil Fenwick, said: "We are very pleased to see a drop in incidents. We work very hard to make sure that people are as safe as possible and it appears that this work is paying off.
"We will continue to do everything we can to make the people of Essex safer.
"Hoax calls are more than a nuisance; they waste valuable resources and could potentially cost lives taking the time for fire engines and crews who could be needed elsewhere.
"We actively monitor hoax calls to the service on a daily basis and have computers working to flag multiple hoax call offenders, these phones are then disconnected.
"We also work in close partnership with premises across Essex where hoax calls are a problem to develop a strategy to combat this socially unacceptable practice."
In the 12 months leading up to the end of March 2013 the service attended 14,081 incidents compared to 16,139 in the same period the year before.
Calls to small outdoor fires dropped by 75 per cent, but calls to flooding were up by 151 - both rises attributed to the increased rainfall the county saw last year.
Hoax calls were also down over the last 12 months from 306 to 268, which is drastically lower than a decade ago, which was as many as 1,599.
Divisional officer for community safety, Neil Fenwick, said: "We are very pleased to see a drop in incidents. We work very hard to make sure that people are as safe as possible and it appears that this work is paying off.
"We will continue to do everything we can to make the people of Essex safer.
"Hoax calls are more than a nuisance; they waste valuable resources and could potentially cost lives taking the time for fire engines and crews who could be needed elsewhere.
"We actively monitor hoax calls to the service on a daily basis and have computers working to flag multiple hoax call offenders, these phones are then disconnected.
"We also work in close partnership with premises across Essex where hoax calls are a problem to develop a strategy to combat this socially unacceptable practice."
