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| Heavy rains have led to false fire alarms and unwanted work for the firefighters which has become a nuisance for most of them |
False fire alarms are not only a nuisance to those affected, but also waste resources.
Heavy rain across the country left the capital's fire and rescue services stretched to the limit over the weekend as firefighters responded to flooding incidents in residential and business premises. Crews were also forced to respond to several false fire alarms as a result of the heavy downpour, which led to more than 300 call-outs across the city between Saturday (October 2nd) 22:00 BST and 01.20 BST on Sunday, reports the Kingston Guardian.
Phil Morton, watch manager at Kingston, told the publication that "thousands of emergency calls" has been made, and added that "a lot of fire alarm systems become faulty" when it rains. This underscores the importance of commercial premises taking extra precautions to ensure their systems are not easily triggered by downpours, which can minimise unnecessary call-outs to fire services.
False fire alarms are not only a nuisance to those affected, but also waste resources. This is why the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and Chief Fire Officers' Association collaborated to produce the Guide for Responsible Persons on False Alarm Management of Fire Detection and Alarm Systems. A copy can be obtained from the FIA website. Fire Industry Association is available for further comment on the news.
