Tag: false alarms

Fire service to change the way it responds to false fire alarm signals

IS YOUR WORKPLACE READY?

Firefighters across the East of Scotland responded to almost 10,000 unwanted fire alarm signals last year – the equivalent of around 27 a day.

The figure has been revealed as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) gets ready to change the way it responds to unwanted fire alarm signals: 

From 1 July, 2023 an alarm activation will require those with fire safety responsibility, known as dutyholders, to investigate the cause of an alarm and only call 999 once a fire has been confirmed.

This approach is already embedded across several other UK fire and rescue services, who require a confirmed fire before they send fire appliances

Fire Alarm Systems provide an early warning of fire and are one of the most effective ways to keep your business, staff and customers safe in the event of a fire.

Unfortunately, most signals from these systems are not actual fires – they are false alarms often caused by cooking fumes, dust or a lack of maintenance. These unwanted fire alarm signals (UFAS) mean our fire crews are called out unnecessarily.

From 1 July 2023, we will stop attending automatic fire alarm (AFA) call outs to commercial business and workplace premises, such as factories, offices, shops and leisure facilities – unless a fire has been confirmed.

Dutyholders with responsibility for workplace premises should safely investigate a fire alarm before calling 999, as our control room operators will now be asking for confirmation of an actual fire, or signs of fire, before sending the nearest resource.

SFRS will treat any fire alarm as a sign of fire, other than from a single smoke detector. Other signs of fire include: visual flame/smoke, smell of burning, or any other fire alarm signal. 

This change does not apply to sleeping premises, such as hospitals, care homes, hotels or domestic dwellings who will continue to get an emergency response.

This follows the SFRS public consultation in 2021 and is estimated to greatly reduce unnecessary call outs in order to free up our firefighters to attend real emergencies and to allow them to do more community safety prevention work.

What do I need to do next?

  • As a dutyholder you must ensure that your premises are safe for staff, visitors and occupants in the event of a fire. You have a responsibility under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 to maintain the facilities and equipment provided. Failure to do this could lead to prosecution.
  • Staff and occupants should be made aware of how to respond safely to AFA activations in each premises. It is recommended that you read the guidance Investigating Fire Alarms prepared by the Fire Industry Association.  Ignoring them or assuming the fire and rescue service has been notified could put people at risk. 
  • You should contact your insurance company to discuss the changes in response to AFA activations, but please note that SFRS will always attend a confirmed fire.
  • If there is a fire you should always call 999 immediately and follow other specific strategies, such as evacuation and assembly points.

How you can help to reduce false or unwanted alarms

As a dutyholder, you have a responsibility under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 to maintain the facilities and equipment provided. Failure to do this could lead to prosecution.

We fully support the installation of automatic fire alarm systems, but these systems must be fully managed and maintained to reduce false alarms and ensure that they activate at the right time and achieve the correct response.

You must work with your fire risk assessor and update your fire risk assessment with any changes.

We have two initiatives in place to assist with reducing instances of UFAS. ‘TAKE5’ and ‘BE AWARE’ are simple and effective ways of delivering key information to staff and guests, allowing them to consider their actions in buildings.

Other key steps include:

  • Reviewing your Fire Safety Risk Assessment and keeping a log of all false alarms to identify any trends which should be raised with your alarm engineers.
  • Creating an action plan to reduce the chance of any false alarm occurring
  • Check detector types and their locations – would moving detectors or changing the type used reduce activations? Seek advice from your alarm engineer.
  • Upgrading automatic fire detection (AFD) systems that are obsolete with more modern technology e.g. ‘multi-sensing’ detectors
  • Fitting manual call points with protective plastic covers in problem, vulnerable or high traffic areas
  • Ascertaining whether any false alarms are a result of activating the wrong call points such as green emergency door release points
  • Keeping AFD systems appropriately maintained
  • Considering whether a link to an Alarm Receiving Centre is necessary or if it is appropriate to suspend the automatic dialling function whilst buildings are occupied or at certain times of the day
  • Seeking further guidance and advice from their alarm system provider or servicing agent as well as their local legislative fire safety officer.

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Stewart Nicholson is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Head of Service Delivery for the East of Scotland. He said: “We will continue to work with dutyholders to help them better understand their obligations, but I must stress the importance of having adequate training in place for staff and in ensuring appropriate fire safety provisions are in place within your premises. 

“By changing our response to these types of incidents, we can potentially free up 64,000 hours every year giving firefighters more time for other activities, such as training and fire safety prevention work.  

“However, there are benefits to businesses too by preventing these incidents from happening in the first place. On average, every unwanted fire alarm signal interrupts business for around 27 minutes each time.” 

Public consultation backs calls to reduce firefighters’ attendance at false alarms

Crews of up to nine were routinely being mobilised in two fire appliances to an average 28,479 false alarms each year – equating to around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service recently held a 12-week public consultation which provided communities and partners with three options to safely reduce these numbers.

The consultation identified that most stakeholders supported Option A which means that the SFRS will establish if Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) in workplaces have been triggered by an actual fire before sending any appliances.

This change, which will reduce attendance rates by up to 57 per cent, will come into effect in April 2023 and will bring Scotland into line with most other UK Fire and Rescue Services.

Hospitals, residential care homes and sleeping risk premises will remain exempt and appliances will continue to be mobilised automatically to any fire alarm activations within these facilities.

It is anticipated that 37,524 hours could now be released each year for firefighters to enhance their training – and carry out community safety work, including supporting the most vulnerable to stay safe from fires within the home.

SFRS Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “We are grateful to the public and our partners for sharing their views on our proposals. 

“False alarms account for almost one third of fire and rescue activity across Scotland. They place a drain on front line services, increase risk to road users and cause interruption to the business sector and communities.

“The advantages of call challenging workplaces to reduce these callouts are clear,” said ACO Stevens.

“Making this change means we can carry out more training, community safety and fire prevention activity, as well as improving road safety and reducing our carbon impact.

“These unnecessary blue light journeys bring risks to our crews, other road users and pedestrians as well as impacting the environment with an estimated 575 tonnes of carbon emissions produced – the equivalent of heating 230 homes a year.

“Businesses will also experience less disruption as they no longer need to wait for us to attend to give the all clear after a false alarm.

“The legal responsibility for dealing with an AFA alert lies with the duty holder of a property and most UK fire and rescue services now seek confirmation of a fire before attending. Now the SFRS is making this change too.”

The Board paper, full consultation report and associated documents can be accessed online at:

https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/media/2383437/20211216_bsfrs_board_all_papers.pdf

False Alarms Consultation: Firefighters respond to 30,000 workplace false alarms each year

Around 64,000 hours of firefighters’ time is needlessly spent each year checking out false alarms from workplaces, figures from the latest Scottish Fire and Rescue Service consultation show.

The Service mobilises on average two fire appliances and nine firefighters to each of the 28,479 false alarms – equating to around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys annually.

Most alarms are activated by faults or other causes like steam or burnt food with only two per cent actually involving a fire, most of which are put out before the arrival of crews.

The information has been shared by the national Service as part of its consultation on how to safely reduce call outs to false alarms, known as Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals (UFAS).

Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens says businesses and partners can play a key role in reducing the figures and called on them to get involved in the consultation.

“The advantages of getting duty holders to accept their legal responsibilities and reducing these callouts are clear” said ACO Stevens, “Making this change means we can free up firefighters’ time, be even more responsive in genuine emergencies and use SFRS resources more effectively.

 “We can also carry out more training and fire prevention activity, as well as realising the related benefits of improving road safety and reducing our carbon impact. These unnecessary blue light journeys bring risks to our crews, other road users and pedestrians as well as impacting the environment with an estimated 575 tonnes of carbon emissions produced – the equivalent of heating 230 homes a year.

“Businesses will also experience less disruption as they no longer need to wait for us to attend to give the all clear after a false alarm.”

The twelve-week consultation – which seeks views on three proposed options – is underway and while early analysis is encouraging with many members of the public taking part it also indicates a low response rate from the businesses and workplaces that are potentially most affected by the proposed changes.

Assistant Chief Officer Stuart Stevens added: “It may be that these businesses and organisations are taking their time to fully consider the proposed options and I’m also aware last month we were just coming out of a holiday period which is why we’re issuing this appeal for those most affected to take part in the consultation and play their part in helping to shape the future response model.”

The consultation brings the SFRS into line with the majority of UK fire and rescue services response to workplace automatic fire alarms (AFAs) explained Assistant Chief Officer Stevens: “The legal responsibility for dealing with an AFA alert lies with the duty holder of a property and most UK fire and rescue services now seek confirmation of a fire before attending. It’s now time for the SFRS make this change too.”

ACO Stevens added: “Each of the options, which have all been risk assessed, will see a significant reduction in the number of UFAS calls we attend. We want to know what those most affected think of our three proposed options I urge them to have their say on how they think we can best use our resources to keep them, their families and their communities even safer.”

The consultation document ‘Time for Change: Reducing Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals’ (UFAS) and survey can be accessed online at /consultations/ufas-consultation.aspx until Monday, October 11.

A report based on analysis of the consultation responses – including a preferred option – will be considered by the SFRS Board in December 2021. Any changes to service delivery will be implemented in a carefully managed process and in partnership with directly affected stakeholders.

Be Aware campaign targets false fire alarms

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is continuing its efforts to reduce thousands of needless false fire alarms by launching an information campaign.

According to the latest statistics, firefighters responded to a total of 28,713 such incidents over the course of 2019 – resulting in around 54,000 unnecessary blue light journeys.

Fire Alarm Systems are designed to provide an early warning of fire so that members of the public have ample time to exit a building and make their way to a place of safety.

They form a vital part of any fire safety strategy – and remain one of the most effective ways to protect customers, staff and any public or commercial premises from the effects of fire.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of signals from these systems are not generated by fire but other causes such as a fault in the system or cooking, steam, dust, smoking or vaping.

This can lead to crews being turned out unnecessarily to what is a false alarm – otherwise known as an unwanted fire alarm signal (UFAS).

The 28,713 UFAS calls in 2019 represented 31 per cent of all incidents attended by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service within non-domestic properties such as hotels, shops, residential care homes and hospitals.  This campaign is intended to reach everyone who uses, visits or works in any of these premises.

The Service continues to work with partners and is now launching a new “Be Aware” campaign designed to promote public awareness of simple steps that can be taken when visiting or staying within our hotels, guest houses and other accommodation/residential premises to reduce false alarms.

These steps include:

  • Do not mistake fire alarm break glass points for GREEN door exit points
  • Do not smoke or vape inside the building or in your room
  • Take care when using toasters, kettles, dryers, straighteners
  • Steam can set off alarms, so keep bathroom doors closed and extractor fans on when using baths, showers and sinks
  • Never remove, cover up or damage smoke or heat detector heads to prevent them activating
  • Know your escape route and the location of your closest fire exit. Never wedge fire doors open and close doors behind you when evacuating.

Assistant Chief Officer Ross Haggart is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Director of Prevention and Protection. He said: “We as a Service encourage the use of automatic fire detection as it helps save lives and protect buildings.

“However, false alarms, such as those that are caused by system faults or as a consequence of unintended actions, are an unnecessary drain on our resources and present undue risk for our firefighters and the public from appliances responding to these calls under blue light conditions.

“For businesses and other organisations it can result in an impact on costs including lost revenue and the real danger of staff becoming complacent.”

He added: “We are committed to working with duty holders and, where appropriate, improving management arrangements within premises to reduce the number of unwanted fire alarm signals.

“In addition, it is important to raise awareness with the public in how they can play their part when visiting or staying in those premises.

“That is why we are launching this campaign to encourage members of the public and staff to “Be Aware” of their actions in buildings and how these can help reduce false alarms and prevent fire crews from responding to UFAS incidents.

“This will greatly assist organisations in managing their fire alarm systems to reduce business disruption and the number of unnecessary blue light journeys.

“However, we should make clear that through robust and flexible strategic planning, our crews are always ready to respond to any incident to keep our communities safe.”