Fire service to change automatic alarm response

A fire and rescue service will only instantly deploy to automatic fire alarm call-outs at "higher risk" buildings due to the number of false alarms it receives.

The plans mean Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) will stop automatically sending fire engines to every alarm notification.

The changes, which will come into affect on 20 September, will not apply to schools, properties where people sleep or "higher risk" buildings.

A public consultation into the changes began in March - after the service announced that more than 99% of alerts it received from automatic alarms were false.

When the changes are implemented, alarms from buildings such as shops, offices, and sports grounds will be challenged by a phone call.

The service said the policy needed to be changed to "ensure communities and firefighters are kept safe".

It added that attending false alarm calls caused "significant disruption to the delivery of essential services and training".

False alarms account for 45% of all incidents, according to the fire service, with 99.3% of automatic fire alarm notifications requiring no action by the service.

Responses to confirmed fires or emergency 999 calls would be unaffected by the changes, RBFRS confirmed.

The consultation into the plans received 389 responses.

The changes follow a similar policy change recently announced by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, that will be implemented in October.

Jim Powell, area manager for collaboration and policy with RBFRS, 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."

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