How to Prevent False Fire Alarms

False fire alarms are an occupational hazard for our fire and rescue services. Having said that, we’d all rather have alarms that go off when they shouldn’t as opposed to alarms that don’t go off when they should!

Nevertheless, with the London Fire Brigade reporting 47,000 false fire alarms in a recent 12 month period and their colleagues in Devon and Somerset claiming that more than a third of the calls they attend are false or ‘unwanted’, there’s clearly a problem. 

False fire alarms divert the attention of our firefighters away from genuine emergencies. Meanwhile, if you’re experiencing constant false alarms, there’s a danger of becoming complacent and eventually ignoring a genuine alarm. There’s also a real cost to your business if everyone has to keep stopping work and evacuating the premises on a regular basis. 

So what can we do to minimise the number of false fire alarms without compromising on safety? Here are a few practical suggestions.

Get good quality equipment

We all like to get a bargain, but saving a few pennies by cutting corners when meeting your legal obligations towards fire safety really isn’t a good idea. Cheap fire alarms are far more likely to produce false alarms than good quality systems designed around the requirements of your business.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 merely states that ‘an appropriate fire detection system’ needs to be installed, but it’s worth consulting with a professional and reputable supplier to ensure that you’re getting one that’s suitable for the fire risks in your premises. 

The other important thing you should do is check that your fire alarm system meets the relevant safety standards as detailed in BS 5839.

Use professional installation services

Just as important as getting a good quality fire alarm system is having it installed by a competent person who knows what they are doing. A professional installer will know from experience and training where the best places are to locate smoke and heat detectors to ensure that the most likely sources and types of fire will be effectively covered.

When you engage Scutum South East to support your fire safety obligations, we’ll carry out a comprehensive assessment of your premises and its fire risks to determine the best and most accurate areas to place your essential equipment and make sure that it’s installed to the standards dictated by BS 5839.  

Have your equipment maintained regularly 

Once your fire alarm system has been installed, it’s also vital – as well as being a legal requirement under the terms of the Fire Safety Order – that you have it maintained and serviced at least once a year. Any electrical system such as a modern fire alarm can develop faults over time, and regular maintenance ensures that these are picked up and remedied at the earliest opportunity. 

At Scutum South East, we offer a comprehensive range of fire alarm maintenance and repair services that can keep your equipment working at its best and most effective year after year. We can also make one-off checks to investigate potential issues if you think you might have faulty equipment producing false alarms.

Learn from false alarms that do happen

If you do get a false fire alarm at your commercial premises, it’s important that you investigate the cause and see what you can do to stop it happening again. This is likely to include getting a suitably qualified person to check the equipment producing the false alarm to see if there’s an identifiable fault that can be fixed.

Repeated false alarms can result in enforcement action under the terms of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 if you cannot produce evidence that you are recording instances, along with the steps you are taking to prevent them from happening again. 

False fire alarms cost both lives and money. By organising your fire safety measures and equipment with a reputable fire safety specialist such as Scutum South East, you can rest easy knowing that you’re doing all you can to keep your premises and staff safe and not wasting the time and resources of your local fire and rescue service.

Get in touch with us now to ask for a free site visit and cost-effective quotation.