Mr Raynsford says: “I remember reading myself into the job when I was given the responsibility, this figure just came out at me that half of the people who die in domestic fires were dead before the alarm was raised. So however good the firefighters were, and they’re very good at getting out to a fire quickly, it’s never going to save half the people. And so prevention’s vital. Actually I feel quite proud of the way we turned what was a potential disaster of a large dispute into an opportunity.”