Monday 13 August 2007
15.00hrs
Businesses in the local area are being asked to play their part in
a drive to reduce the thousands of false alarms attended by the
fire service each year.
As part of a new policy introduced by Avon Fire & Rescue
Service, 999 Fire Control operators will now be asking a
responsible member of staff to confirm a few basic signs of fire if
their automatic alarm system is activating.
Domestic properties, sheltered housing or residential care homes
with automatic alarm systems will not be affected by the new scheme
- if their alarms sound Fire Control will continue to treat the
call as a real emergency, even though a fire might not have been
confirmed. This is because at these types of properties there is
often not a ‘fire marshal’, or a trained staff member, that is
available to check the source of the alarm.
Last year Avon Fire & Rescue Service attended 6,528 call outs
as a result of automated fire alarms sounding. However, 96 percent
turned out to be false alarms caused by anything from cooking steam
to builder’s dust. Under the new policy when staff at a business
call 999 to report an alarm ringing they will be asked by Fire
Control to check the source of the alarm before any fire engines
are sent to the scene. The remaining four percent of calls
were small fires, confined to the room where they started due to
building regulations.
In the coming weeks AF&RS staff will be meeting business
leaders to explain the changes, providing leaflets detailing safe
methods of identifying the signs of fire.
Group Manager, Robin Manners, Head of Fire Safety at Avon Fire
& Rescue Service said: “In the past we have treated alarm calls
from business premises in the same way as we would any other
emergency. Obviously that means fire engines on blue lights
negotiating their way through busy town centres, which inevitably
puts the public and our own staff at a certain amount of
risk.
“If we can avoid attending premises where there is absolutely no
evidence of a fire it would mean at least 12,500 less vehicle
movements each year and would save the service in excess of £3.5
million which could be used elsewhere, for example by our Community
Safety teams. A reduction in this type of false alarm call will
also mean life is not put at risk at genuine fires and rescues, by
our services being unnecessarily diverted elsewhere.
“This policy brings us in line with other fire and rescue services
in the UK, but clearly our main interest is keeping the public
safe. If callers are in any doubt as to whether or not there’s a
fire they should rest assured we will always be on hand to
respond.”
Avon Fire & Rescue Service is encouraging business and their
fire marshals to make themselves aware of the changes, which could
have positive effects on local firms.
GM Robin Manners said: “The unwanted fire signals generated by fire
alarm systems cause problems for businesses too in terms of
production or sales losses, as well as the general disruption to
business or service continuity. They also contribute to
complacency among staff, thereby reducing the overall effectiveness
of the alarm system itself.”