Berkshire fire false alarm call-outs on the rise

By Oliver Trapnell

Fire false alarm callouts by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) have risen by almost 1000 cases since 2013.

Data aggregated by the Home Office (Gov.uk) states that the total number of fire false alarm responses tallied over 2019 has increased to 3,636.

RBFRS Area Manager, Jim Powell, said: “The reduction in false alarms, particularly due to equipment and malicious-hoax calls, is an area of focus and scrutiny for the Service.

“We have processes in place to call challenge and will proactively visit premises in which these false alarms are occurring, to help alleviate the unnecessary pressure this creates on our response resources.”

The data suggests that good intent and apparatus fault are the primary sources for the increase in fire false alarm callouts.

It also states that the malicious call-outs make up 103 cases per year on average.

Although the number of malicious call-outs has remained relatively consistent since 2013, it has reduced considerably year-on-year since 2001 which saw responses to malicious call-outs reaching more than 950 cases.

The Home Office statistics also show that fire false alarms make up the largest number of call-outs for the service.

On average, fire false alarm call-outs constitute 1.5x more cases than the next highest type of call-out.

Advice from the RBFRS to reduce the number of fire false alarms states that residents should ensure that fire detection and alarm systems have been correctly installed and that they are properly managed and maintained.

A small part of the reason for this rising number of false alarms stems from alarms triggered from the same location.

Mr Powell said: “The data on false alarms in Royal Berkshire suggests that there are only a small number of premises where false alarms occur more than once and where this is the case, we work closely with those occupiers to reduce the number.

“Although there has been a rise in numbers of incidents involving AFAs (Automatic Fire Alarms), for the last few years numbers have remained at a stable level and the pattern in Berkshire broadly reflects that of England as a whole.”