Unwanted or false alarms can cost lives (PDF
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Free advice from the fire and rescue service, along with
good fire alarm management, can help to ensure an effective and
trouble free Automatic Fire Detection and Alarm System.
For advice on how to reduce unwanted and unnecessary fire calls
please call Avon Fire & Rescue Service Fire Safety Officers on
0117 926 2061, extension 226
Why it is important to reduce false fire calls
If an Automatic Detection and Fire Alarm System
is correctly maintained, it can significantly improve
safety by detecting a fire and sounding the alarm at
the early stages of a fire's development.
Unfortunately this equipment can also produce unwanted or false
alarms.
Definition
The definition of an unwanted or false alarm, is an alarm
activation resulting from a cause other than a fire.
Impact of Unwanted Fire Signals (UWFS)
UWFS have a major impact on the fire and rescue service due
to:
- diverting essential services from real fires and rescues
(putting life at risk);
- unnecessary risk to crews and the public while responding
(accidents);
- disruption to training, arson reduction and community safety
activities (education saves lives); and
- cost of attendance to tax payers.
The impact of UWFS on the community includes:
- disruption of business (time wasted, loss of business,
theft);
- disrupt customer activities, cause inconvenience to residents
and become a nuisance to the community;
- complacency – "it’s just another false alarm" – reduces
effectiveness of management plans and procedures;
- diverting essential services from real fires and rescues
(putting life at risk);
- cost to business when Retained Duty System (RDS)
firefighters are released from work to attend an UWFS;
- disruption to arson reduction, community safety and fire safety
activities (such as education and Home Fire Safety
Visits);
- impact to the environment of unnecessary appliance movements;
and
- drain on public finances.
False alarms can cost lives
An unwanted, or false fire alarm signal, received by the
fire and rescue service is treated like any other emergency call,
because our Control operators do not know it is an unwanted
or false alarm. This means important resources are
sent to the scene.
A real fire or accident may be taking place elsewhere and
our response may be slower because we are attending the false
alarm.
Attendance to false alarms can also disrupt
firefighters' work patterns and training.
Reaction
People who hear regular false alarms begin to ignore them,
or react more slowly.
This may put them at significant risk in a real
emergency.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service's response to continuous false
alarms
In order to identify repeat UWFS from the same premises, and
enable early effective interventions to avoid further alarm
operations, the UWFS Team will:
- monitor UWFS on a daily basis to identify any multiple UWFS
over the last 48 hours; and
- where appropriate, make contact with the responsible person of
the offending premises to offer advice and guidance on management
intervention strategies to prevent further UFWS.