Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is changing the way it responds to Automatic Fire Alarms in certain types of buildings as of 20 September 2024.
Following a public consultation, RBFRS will stop automatically sending a fire engine when there is an automatic fire alarm notification in buildings such as shops, offices, leisure centres, sports grounds, libraries and health centres. A full list of all buildings affected is on our website.
RBFRS will continue to attend automatic fire alarm notifications at schools, at higher risk buildings and where anyone sleeps, such as hotels, hospitals, care homes, houses, and flats.
In all cases, an emergency response will continue to be sent to 999 calls and confirmed fires.
RBFRS needs to change the way it responds to automatic fire alarm notifications to ensure communities and firefighters are kept safe. This is because 99% of the automatic fire alarm calls received are false alarms. Attending these types of incidents takes time and resource and therefore causes significant disruption to the delivery of essential services and training.
Members of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority decided to make the change following a public consultation, which attracted a total of 389 responses during the consultation period.
Councillor Jeff Brooks, Chair of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority said: “I would like to thank all those who responded during the consultation period. The comments provided were very helpful in assisting the Fire Authority Members to reach a decision on the best way forward. The Authority very much took in to account the views of residents and other respondents in coming to its decision.”
The changes help to align our processes to neighbouring fire and rescue services in the Thames Valley. Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service are currently running a six month pilot following the same AFA guidance and Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service will introduce the same measures on 10 October.
Ahead of the changes, RBFRS is running an awareness campaign to help owners of premises affected by this change, to understand the change and ensure that they are meeting their responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Jim Powell, Area Manager for Collaboration and Policy, said: “Alignment of our response to Automatic Fire Alarms is the latest example of collaboration between the fire and rescue services of the Thames Valley.
“Ahead of the changes, we will be sharing information on our website and social media, as well as engaging with as many affected premises as possible to ensure they are aware of the change and continue to have adequate fire safety measures in place.”
Further information on preparing for the changes can be found on the RBFRS website.