KENT and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority has been recognised as one of the country's top performers according to the latest Audit Commission statistics.

The commission's assessment figures, just published, has rated the authority as excellent and improving strongly.

All fire services across England have improved in preventing fires and saving lives over the past year - with deaths from fires at their lowest levels since 1958.

The Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority also scored highly for use of its financial resources by keeping on budget for the last three years.

Brian Cope, chairman of Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "I am delighted that the Audit Commission has recognised the achievements of the authority in providing a first class public service, and the progress it is making towards further service improvements. This assessment recognises the hard work of all our staff in reducing the number of fires, dealing with road accidents, and getting the right safety messages to everyone who needs them, as part of "Making Kent Safer".

"Kent and Medway is proud to be the only fire and rescue authority to be rated as both excellent and improving strongly.

"However, we remain committed to guaranteeing continuous improvement to the service by being efficient and providing value for money. Our work in the future is about enabling us to invest more in training and new equipment to build on Kent's current excellent standards of service provision for fire and rescue".

Michael O'Higgins, chairman of the Audit Commission, said: "The assessments reveal a positive picture of fire fighting across England, with fewer fires taking place across the country and deaths from fires at their lowest levels in 50 years.

"This demonstrates the time and effort that fire authorities have put into prevention work over the last few years, and the dramatic impact this can have by tackling the cause rather than the effect of fires."

For more information on the statistics http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa/fire/