| The complete process of responding to a faulty fire alarm is a waste for professionals and the resources |
Earlier in the month, the Fire Industry Association advised business owners to regularly test their fire detection equipment following a blaze at a hotel.
The Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have announced plans to cut back on the number of times it attends false alarms. According to figures released by the service, its firefighters answer around 9,000 call-outs each year, with almost one in three of these being false alarms.
Notably, most of the unnecessary call-outs are caused by automatic detectors fitted in commercial premises, with just 0.1 per cent of alarms activated by such devices actually requiring officers to take action. As a result of this, the assistant chief fire officer for Hereford and Worcester, Tony Prosser, stated that, moving forward, officers could be permitted to decide whether or not to respond to an automatic alarm, largely through looking at the 'risk profile' of the premises in question.
"This proposed review will take into account the relative risk of an actual fire occurring compared with the potential impact of sending out an 11-tonne vehicle at high speed along congested roads and the associated risk this presents to other road users, pedestrians and our firefighters," he told the Worcester News.
However, the newspaper added that the Fire Brigades Union has already questioned the wisdom of the proposals. Earlier in the month, the Fire Industry Association advised business owners to regularly test their fire detection equipment following a blaze at a hotel.