The fire service is changing the way it responds to automatic fire alarms in some types of commercial premises.
What do businesses need to know?
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue will no longer automatically mobilize fire engines to automatic fire alarms in some types of commercial premises from 6 January 2020.
Currently, SYFRS automatically sends fire engines to the premises the moment a fire alarm goes off and the signal is passed, by a receiving centre, onto 999 control operators. Instead, it will only mobilize fire engines if we receive a call to confirm there is a fire.
Why is this change being implemented?
Fire crews wasted more than 1,000 hours investigating the cause of those false alarms
About 97% of the automatic fire alarms the service attended in business premises in the last three years turned out to be false alarms.
Fire crews wasted more than 1,000 hours investigating the cause of those false alarms- time that could have been better spent training, working in the community, or being available to attend other, genuine incidents.
The change also brings South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue in line with the position of many other fire and rescue services nationally and that of the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Which premises will this apply to?
The change will affect:
- Offices
- Shops
- Industrial buildings
- Public buildings like libraries or museums
- Places of worship
Which premises does this not apply to?
Premises unaffected by the change are:
- Domestic properties with fire/smoke alarms.
- Other sleeping risk premises include hospitals, sheltered housing, care or homes, houses of multiple occupations, flats, high-rise tower blocks, hotels, bedsits, boarding schools, colleges, universities, or halls of residence.
- Schools.
- Heritage sites.
- Large industrial sites, covered by COMAH legislation.
- National critical infrastructure.
- Shops with homes or sleeping accommodations above/below.
As a business owner, what do they need to do?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, it’s the responsibility of businesses to ensure their alarm systems are checked regularly and maintained properly, eliminate false alarms, and make sure the alarm operates as it should in the event of a genuine emergency.
In particular, business owners are advised to review their Emergency Plan to ensure that in the event of an alarm activation the following areas are considered:
- During the normal working day, a procedure should be in place for staff in the building to liaise with the Alarm Receiving Center and confirm whether the Fire and Rescue Service needs to be called in the event of a fire alarm activation.
- Outside of normal working hours, contact details for nominated persons should be available to the Alarm Receiving Center so that a responsible person can be called to attend the premises and determine the nature of the incident before the Fire and Rescue Service is called.
The responsible person should contact their Alarm Receiving Center as soon as possible to ensure they are aware of these new arrangements.