Oxfordshire Fire Service restricts automatic emergency calls

A fire department has announced that it will soon stop responding to automatic fire alarms unless a building is deemed to be at high risk.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS) said that from October 10, “unless there are clear signs of fire”, it will only respond to automatic alarms in high-risk buildings.

While fire alarms are essential for early detection of fires, “most alarms are false and are often caused by cooking fumes, dust or poor maintenance.”

According to the service, the measure would reduce business disruption and loss of productivity and give firefighters more resources for actual emergencies.

OFRS stated that they would always be on scene if a fire was confirmed, but reported that 99% of the automatic alarms they received on scene were false.

Common causes included poorly maintained panels and detectors, lack of staff training or outdated or unchecked fire risk assessments, the report said.

OFRS said unnecessary fire alarms were diverting “vital resources” and added that the organisation would only respond to automatic alarms in high-risk buildings, including schools, hospitals, care homes, assisted living facilities and some private homes.

OFRS advised companies to reduce false alarms by recording and analyzing alerts to identify patterns, and to upgrade outdated systems with modern technology.

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