False alarms (or unwanted alarms as they are sometimes referred to) have long been an issue for the fire-safety industry. And it is an issue that shows no sign of going away. The Fire and Rescue Service in England attended 577,053 incidents in the year ending March 2022, with 229,844 turning out to be false alarms, some 69% of which were due to apparatus.1 Over the same period there were 52,646 false alarms in Scotland, an increase of 10.5% on the previous year.2
This has led to various initiatives by the fire service and by manufacturers of fire-detection systems to address the seemingly perennial problem. This includes schemes such as that introduced in 2013 when the London Fire Brigade became the first fire service in the country to levy charges against those responsible for buildings where firefighters were called out to false alarms ten times or more over a 12-month period. The latest initiative sees the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) introducing a scheme from 1 July 2023 whereby they will no longer attend automatic fire-alarm call-outs to commercial business and workplace premises unless confirmation of a fire has been provided. Although there will be an exemption for premises with sleeping accommodation, this will affect thousands of businesses, from offices and factories to retail and leisure facilities.
While the London Fire Brigade scheme, subsequently adopted by many other Fire and Rescue Services, has had limited success, at least it only penalised repeat offenders. Time will tell if the new scheme being adopted in Scotland will generate a material difference, but it does seem somewhat unfair that it is being applied across the board, with businesses that have an exemplary record of no false alarms being subjected to the same requirements as those who waste fire-service resources through repeated false-alarm call-outs. There are also, of course, the potential ramifications in terms of threat to life and an increase in the loss of buildings and contents that the need to confirm the presence of a fire could entail.
Manufacturers of fire-detection systems have to carry some of the responsibility, particularly in light of the 69% of false-alarm call-outs in England and the 42.3% in Scotland that were attributed to detecting apparatus. The Fire Industry Association (FIA) recognises the role that its members have to play in reducing the incidences of false alarms and in supporting the new policy adopted in Scotland: ‘The FIA applaud the forward thinking of SFRS in their recognition of the advantages of new technology, such as multi-sensor fire detection in the reduction of false alarms. FIA member companies engaged in design and maintenance of fire alarm systems can provide assistance to duty holders in further optimising technological solutions.’3
As an FIA member, Siemens supports this commitment to reducing false alarms. In fact, we have such faith in our detectors that we offer a Guarantee Against False Alarms for our Cerberus™ PRO Advanced Detectors with ASA (Advanced Signal Analysis) technology.
We recognise the importance of site surveys, installation, commissioning and maintenance in ensuring that the detector operates correctly, with the settings appropriate for the environment it is protecting. Hence the guarantee is administered by our approved partners. We make significant investments in training to ensure that our standards are set and maintained, both internally and externally. This is demonstrated by the recent appointment of another trainer at our Siemens UK central training facility in Manchester to focus on training programmes for our Cerberus PRO fire alarm system. That investment in training also extends to outside providers. An example is our support of Banham Academy, the leading specialist training provider in the apprenticeship scheme for Level 3 Fire Emergency & Security Systems in England. Central to the apprenticeships are practical sessions to train the apprentices in the technologies they will face in their day-to-day work as fire-safety engineers. Siemens have supplied panels from our Cerberus FIT FC360 range for use at Banham Academy’s two training facilities.
Industry-wide approach
Those responsible for keeping the UK’s buildings safe from the threat of fire are still trying to find ways to reduce the waste of resources that false alarms represent. With Scotland having more than double the rate of false fire alarms per million population compared to England and Wales,4 the move by the SFRS to address the situation with their new policy is understandable. However, the manufacturers of automatic detection systems also have their role to play in driving down figures and this is the rationale behind Siemens’ guarantee against false alarms: one which we will continue to pursue vigorously.
For further information on our guarantee against false alarms, visit: www.siemens.co.uk/cerberus
References
1. ‘Fire & Rescue Incident Statistics: England, year ending March 2022’. Gov.uk, Home Office
2. ‘Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics (Scotland), 2021-22’. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
3. ‘Guidance on safe investigation of fire alarm signals in Scotland’ – Fire Industry Association
4. ‘Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics (Scotland), 2021-22’. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
About the Author
Robert Yates
Robert Yates is Head of Building Products Fire Safety in the UK and Ireland for Siemens. He has over 30 years’ experience in the fire industry.
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