What is a false alarm?

When your fire alarm system is activated two things happen:

•     A visual/audible alarm goes off warning occupants
•     A signal is sent to the fire and rescue service

A false alarm is… when there isn’t actually a real fire but the alarm goes off.

There can be lots of reasons, other than a real fire, why the alarm goes off:

•     Cooking fumes (e.g. burnt toast)
•     Steam (e.g. shower rooms, industrial processes)
•     Smoking materials (e.g. cigarettes, matches, candles and incense)
•     Aerosol sprays
•     Hotwork from cutting and welding
•     Dust build up (poor housekeeping, lack of preventative measures for dusty work such as drilling)
•     Humidity and temperature change
•     Accidental or malicious damage to a ‘Break Glass’ point
•     Testing or maintenance – without having/following process to manage this