The service visits thousands of false calls every year, with faulty alarms being one of the reasons for these callouts.
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services have been called out to over 14,000 false fire alarms over the past five years, a new investigation has revealed.
Figures obtained by Personal Injury Claims UK revealed that the service has visited 14,638 false fire alarms since April 2019, putting a strain on finances and resource use.
The data also shows that the service’s annual visits have been between 2000 and 4000 over a five-year period, which is around 8 incidents a day.
From 2019 to 2020, the service attended 2396 false fire alarms, which was the lowest number of visits over the past five years.
A year later, this number increased to 2499, even despite restrictions and lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the restrictions lifted, the number of false fire alarm callouts rose, reaching 3262 visits in 2022/23.
Over the past year, the service has experienced another jump in false alarm calls, with the total standing at 3813 in 2023/24.
Some common causes of false fire alarms include:
- Faulty or poorly designed equipment
- Poorly trained users
- Lack of maintenance
- Fumes from cooking or burnt food
- Steam from showers
- Dust from building or repair work
- Aerosols used near sensors.
Personal Injury Claims UK also obtained figures on how many of these false alarms were caused by faulty equipment.
While the number of faulty fire alarms has fluctuated since 2019/20, faulty equipment has been one of the main reasons for callouts in Norfolk.
With the number of these call-outs increasing year on year, Norfolk Fire and Rescue have explained the impact that false alarms have on the service.
A statement written on the service’s website said: “Unwanted fire alarm signals take appliances away from real emergencies, cause additional risk to road users through unnecessary ‘blue light’ road movements and cost the taxpayer money.
“They can also cause a loss of faith in the alarm system, which may result in slow response in the event of a real fire – or even no response at all.”
Across the country, false fire alarms continue to be the largest proportion of incidents attended at 38%.
They prove to be costly and disruptive, amounting to around £1 billion a year for the UK, according to a study by BRE Group.
If the trend continues, false alarms could pose an ongoing risk to individuals’ safety as well as affect the efficiency of emergency services.
Personal Injury Claims UK offers free advice and support to anyone impacted by a fire, such as those suffering injuries due to faulty appliances or products.
They operate a 24-hour helpline and claim online form, which you can access on their website.
For more information please visit: https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/article/43868/Automatic-fire-
alarms
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