Time for Change: Reducing Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals

Overview

As part of our public consultation on reducing unwanted fire alarm signals, we’d like to hear your views on our three proposals to change the way we respond to workplace automatic fire alarms - known as AFAs.

Each year we attend more than 28,000 false alarms from workplace AFAs. On average we send two fire engines to each call so that’s around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys and 64,000 hours checking alarms - often because they are dusty, broken or in many cases someone has burnt their toast.

Only two per cent of these calls are actual fires and most are extinguished before we even arrive. We want to use this time to do more for the communities we serve.

False alarms also disrupt businesses and services that evacuate their premises or stop processes until we arrive, carry out checks and then give the all-clear.

Changing the way we respond to AFAs in the workplace will allow us to use our resources more effectively and help to make our communities even safer.

This means freeing up staff time so firefighters are available to deal with real emergencies, and we will also invest more time on other activities such as training and prevention work.

Reducing the number of needless blue light journeys also helps us to reduce road risk, improve public and firefighter safety and reduce our impact on the environment.

Please take five minutes to complete our short questionnaire below.

Thank you.