As previously reported by the FPA, LFB first announced its plans to reduce firefighter attendance at Unwanted Fire Signals (UwFS) in May of this year. Between April 2023 and March 2024, the Brigade said it had attended 52,000 false alarms generated by AFAs.
As LFB states: “Less than one per cent of calls from non-residential AFAs are ultimately recorded as fires.”
“Because we’re reducing the amount of time and resources spent going to Unwanted Fire Signals (UwFS), it gives us more time and resources to focus on other priorities, such as increasing fire prevention in your community and freeing up our firefighters to go to real emergencies.”
Under the terms of the new policy, the responsible person for a commercial building has been advised that if an AFA is triggered during daytime hours, they will need to confirm via 999 that there is a fire at the premises. The Brigade will still attend AFAs that are triggered between 8.30pm and 7.00am.
“LFB will only send a response to confirmed fires in commercial buildings during daytime hours if a fire is confirmed or the premises are exempt from this policy,” the Brigade explains.
Responsible persons have also been requested to review their fire risk assessment and ensure it is up to date. The Brigade adds that many false alarms occur due to “poor alarm design or maintenance, dust inside detectors, or steam”.
“It is imperative that automatic alarm systems are correctly managed and maintained to minimise false alarms, as well as ensuring that staff in businesses are suitably trained to understand their responsibilities under fire safety law. Recurring false alarms can often be resolved quickly and easily. The Brigade is urging businesses who experience recurring false alarms to investigate each occurrence in order to find the cause, including contacting the alarm system company.”
Notably, the new policy will not apply to all buildings. Exemptions include private dwellings and houses, flats, houses in multiple occupation, hospitals, residential care homes, nursing homes, and hospices, children’s homes, specialised housing premises, student accommodation, schools, and more. The complete list of exempt buildings can be found here.
Earlier this year, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service also detailed its plans to change its response to AFAs. Its new policy came into effect on 10 October.
Last year, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also announced that it would stop attending AFA callouts to commercial business and workplace premises in July 2023.
https://www.thefpa.co.uk/news/change-to-automatic-fire-alarm-response-in-london-announced
