Automatic Fire Alarm Consultation – Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you consulting on how you respond to automatic fire alarms? 

In Berkshire, false alarms make up 45% of the incidents we attend. Most of these calls come from commercial automatic fire detection systems. We refer to these as automatic fire alarms. On 99% of these calls (in the buildings we are consulting on), no action was required by the Service as there was no fire. Attending these types of incidents causes significant disruption to the delivery of our essential services and training. These activities are carefully planned throughout the year and the disruption caused by false alarms has a compounding effect. We need to change the way we respond to automatic fire alarm notifications to ensure our communities and our firefighters are kept safe.  

We will always send a fire engine to 999 calls, confirmed fires and to automatic fire alarm notifications from residential homes.  

The consultation will run for 10 weeks from 4 March 2024 until 13 May 2024.  

What is an automatic fire alarm? 

An automatic fire detection system is a system that is able to detect the earliest signs of a fire and alert building occupants without human intervention. Fire alarm and detection systems react to an increase in heat or the presence of smoke. Unfortunately, they can also react to things such as steam, cigarette smoke, aerosol sprays, and light smoke from cooking, which can lead to a fire engine attending. These incidents often require no further action by firefighters and are called ‘false alarms’.  

How can I respond to the consultation?  

On our website there will be a range of options to respond to the consultation including email, phone or email. Visit: rbfrs.co.uk/haveyoursay for more information. If anyone would like a hard copy or require assistance with accessing the information in an alternative format, please email consulations@rbfrs.co.uk or phone 0118 938 4331. 

Will you still attend my house/ flat if I have an automatic fire alarm that goes off? 

Yes, we will continue to maintain our emergency response to 999 calls, confirmed fires and to automatic fire alarm notifications from residential homes.  

Will you still attend hospitals and care homes if an automatic fire alarm goes off? 

Yes, we will continue to send fire engines to automatic fire alarm calls at buildings where anyone sleeps, such as hospitals, care homes, hotels, houses, and flats. We will also continue to attend fire alarm notifications at a range of existing known higher risk sites. Such as regulated sites and heritage properties.  

Will you still attend schools if an automatic fire alarm goes off? 

For all the options we are consulting on, we are proposing the same change to how we respond to category A buildings. Schools fall under the category B buildings, where we have proposed different options for your consideration.  

No decisions have been made yet. We want to hear what you think of our proposals. 

Regardless of the outcome of the consultation, we will continue to send fire engines to 999 calls and confirmed fires.  

If the consultation results in a change the way we respond to automatic fire alarm notifications, this will enable us to reduce the number of unnecessary false alarms attended and disruption caused by these, further improving the service we provide to our residents.   

Who is responsible for automatic fire alarms? 

There is no legal duty on a fire and rescue service to respond to automatic fire alarm notifications for the purpose of establishing whether there is a fire. In non-domestic premises covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the employer, the owner, or someone else who has control of the premises (the ‘Responsible Person’) must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the buildings are safe for its occupants in the event of a fire. When an alarm system is fitted, these arrangements include maintenance of the system and providing the actions to be taken if the automatic fire alarm system was activated. 

Is there a risk with changing how you respond to automatic fire alarms?  

We recognise that the adoption of any of the changes proposed in this consultation poses a low risk to the identified buildings, for example where buildings are unoccupied and a fire occurs, there could be a potential delay in alerting the Fire Service if we do not respond to the initial automatic fire alarm notification. However, we know the data tells us that on 99% of occasions, these calls were false alarms and no action was required by firefighters that attended. This causes significant disruption to the delivery of essential services and training, therefore on balance, and in line with national changes to how all fire and rescue services respond to automatic fire alarms, we recognise that that we need to change the way we respond to automatic fire alarm notifications to ensure our communities and our firefighters are kept safe.  

If you change the way you respond to automatic fire alarm notifications, will you save money? 

The proposed changes do not offer monetary savings. Our focus is solely on reducing risk by minimising disruption to key activities. 

Do you have an accessible version of the Consultation Documents available?

We have a variety of formats available, including easy read, large text, web version and multiple languages.