East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has issued advice to residents and businesses in the local area after a spate of false alarm callouts.

Fire crews attended 16 false alarm calls between 7am on 2 October and 7am on 3 October, the majority of which were linked to system faults with alarms of accidental activation.

The fire service issued the following advice:

• Remember, fire alarm systems are there to alert occupants to the fact that there may be a fire and depending on your fire risk assessment and emergency plans, it is normally appropriate to investigate first and only to call the Fire Service if / when there are any signs to indicate that there is actually a fire.
• If you have an automatic alarm system, make sure it is installed properly, that you know how it works and it is serviced regularly by a competent person. The British Standards Institute's BS 5839 has recommendations for the planning, design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of these systems. If these are followed, a false alarm issue is unlikely to occur.
• Best practice requires that false alarms are logged and investigated so that any patterns and trends are identified and dealt with.
• Be aware that steam and dust can trigger alarms and take precautions when possible.
• Ensure staff and/or residents know what to do when the alarm goes off.

For more information about how to cut false alarms, check out the FIA’s dedicated false alarm infographic.

Original source

ESFRS