How we Currently Respond to Automatic Fire Alarms

Our current policy is that we will send a fire engine to all automatic fire alarm notifications in buildings that are high-risk, occupied buildings. For example, buildings such as care homes, hospitals, hotels, houses and flats (where anyone sleeps). 

We call-challenge all reports of automatic fire alarm notifications in lower risk buildings that are reasonably assumed to be occupied. Currently, the Service successfully challenges around a quarter of these calls. We will send a fire engine if we cannot contact a person, or if the cause of the alarm is not confirmed by the building occupier. For all automatic fire alarm notification calls, we will always use our discretion. If Fire Control have reasonable doubt about the call, or a cause for concern, they will send a fire engine. We will always send a fire engine to 999 calls and confirmed fires. 

We carried out consultation in 2022, about how we challenge calls to automatic fire alarm notifications. The subsequent changes that we made had a minimal impact on the disruption caused by responding to false alarms.