The safety of your building and its occupants can be greatly enhanced by the installation of an automatic fire detection and alarm system. Properly used and maintained, the automatic system with its fast response to incipient fire can be a significant factor in reducing the risk to life and the limiting of damage to your property in the event of a fire.
Unfortunately, the very features that provide this fast response can also produce false alarms arising from activities other than a real fire. These can prove costly to Fire and Rescue Services and to the building operator where the evacuation of a building as a result of a false alarm can result in loss of production and general disruption of normal business.
Reducing False Alarms
Many of the calls that we receive are from fire alarms systems that are connected to call centres who immediately contact the fire and rescue service. However many of these calls are the result of fire detectors reacting to cooking fumes, dust, steam, aerosol sprays, testing and workmen which are not emergency situations, but alarm signals are still sent. The good news is that the detectors and systems are doing their job by reacting to a possible fire situation, but unfortunately the fire service is automatically called out, even when it is obvious that there is no real emergency. You should take action to reduce false alarms by ensuring that your system is regularly maintained, by reviewing your procedures or seeking advice from your fire alarm designer or local fire safety officer.
A few simple rules coupled with normal good house keeping practices can help to keep these false alarms to a minimum.
Rule 1
Staff or contractors to be made aware that the building is protected by an automatic fire detection system.
Rule 2
Staff or visiting contractors to be instructed that no activity, generating heat, smoke, flame or sparks is to be carried out without prior authorisation of the person responsible for the premises.
Rule 3
No renovation work involving the generation of dust or paint spray is to be carried out in any area protected by fire detectors, unless proper precautions have been taken to protect the fire detectors against the effects or entry of dust.
Following these simple rules will help to reduce false alarms and therefore prevent disruption to your business and loss of production.
Further Measures
It is recognised that most false alarms occur during the period of 0700 hours to 1900 hours, when the premises is actively occupied. It would therefore make sense to consider the continual "on-line" connection to be cancelled during that period, when staff could quickly investigate the cause if the fire alarm sounded. The alarm system would still fully operate all the time, but would not automatically summon the Fire and Rescue Service during those hours.
In any real emergency, or if in any doubt, the Fire and Rescue Service could always be contacted by telephoning 999. The added advantage of calling 999 is that the caller will definitely know that help is on the way. At all other times outside of the period 0700 hours to 1900 hours, the fire alarm system will be "on-line" as normal, which is especially important at night.
The advantage of being "off-line" during the main day hours, is that the disruption due to staff evacuation/plant shutdown, patient movement where applicable and anxiety caused by a false activation of the fire alarm system can be kept to a minimum by local procedures, safe in the knowledge that the Fire and Rescue Service will always attend if 999 is called.
If you are experiencing regular false alarms and are prepared to consider the "off-line" principle we will arrange for one of our staff to discuss the matter in more detail with you. Local fire safety office contact details.
