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False alarms make up 98% of automatic fire alarm confirmed incidents in 2020/21

In new data released by the Home Office, statistics show that the vast majority (98%) of confirmed automatic fire alarm incidents are false alarms, while only 2% were a result of an actual fire in 2020/21. This is down from 3% from 2019/2020.

The majority of false alarms (90%) are due to ‘false apparatus’, with 2% deemed as malicious. 6% are a result of ‘good intent’.

The overall number of fire incidents from automatic fire alarms in 2020/21 was 129,221 – a decrease of over 6.5% on the previous year. Of those that were confirmed fires, 1,855 were from dwellings, 740 from ‘other buildings’, 52 from secondary fires, nine from ‘other outdoors’, five from road vehicles and four from chimney fires.

Automatic fire alarms are designed to sent a signal once a fire is detected via the fire alarm panel straight to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) for the local fire and rescue service to respond to. Some fire and rescue services now also require a confirmed fire before responding, due to the high number of false alarms received, though many do not, such as the London Fire Brigade, who will response to every alarm unless a false alarm is confirmed beforehand.

(IFSEC)

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