The service visits thousands of false calls every year, with each callout proving to be costly.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has been called out to over 32,000 false fire alarms in the past five years, a new investigation has revealed.
Figures obtained by Personal Injury Claims UK revealed that the service has visited 32,903 false fire alarms since April 2019, causing a strain both financially and on the use of resources.
The data also shows that the number of annual visits by the service has been between 6000 and 7000 over a five-year period, or around 18 incidents a day.
From 2019 to 2020, the service attended 6575 false fire alarms, which was the third-highest number of visits over the past five years.
A year later, this number decreased to 6177, and this was caused by a year of restrictions and lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the restrictions lifted, the number of false fire alarm callouts increased as, in 2022/23, the number rose to 6852 visits.
Over the past year, the service has experienced another rise in false alarm calls, with the total standing at 6980 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 much these false fire alarm callouts cost the service.
While the costs have fluctuated since 2019/20, false alarm visits have cost Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service between £3.5m and £5m every year.
With the number of callouts proving costly every year, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue have explained the impact that false alarms have on the service.
A statement written on the service’s website said: “Automatic fire alarms (AFAs) help to keep building occupants safe by providing early warning in the event of fire.
“However, they can also be the cause of false alarms. This means that fire crews are not available to attend genuine emergencies where people’s lives may be at risk or to carry out training or community safety work to help prevent fires from happening in the first place.”
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.twfire.gov.uk/business-safety/business-owner-
your-responsibilities/our-response-to-automatic-fire-alarms/
About the Author
Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service serves a resident population of 1.104 million divided amongst the five constituent councils of Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland in the North East of England.
