Malicious false fire alarm hits record high

A record number of manual call points were maliciously activated across England for the year ending March 2022.

The highest annual number of malicious false fire alarms on record came as people returned to public buildings en masse in a period markedly unaffected by COVID-19 lockdowns.

The latest Home Office figures reveal there was a total of 3,212 false fire alarms caused by the “malicious activation of [a] fire call point/alarm” in England for the year ending March 2022, surpassing challenged hoax calls as the largest reason for malicious fire alarms.

Accidental activations also increased over the period; 14,452 false fire alarms were recorded due to the accidental and careless activation of life safety equipment, including manual call points.

Every false alarm is costly, disrupting schools and businesses, placing unnecessary strain on our emergency services and reducing public confidence in fire alarms.

Despite online learning, working from home and limits on social contact, false fire alarm numbers, although down, persisted during the pandemic.

As schools, offices and shops saw reduced attendance and footfall, malicious false fire alarms survived; now in a post-COVID world, there has been a boom in the number of false alarms plaguing the country.

Continuing to be the largest incident type, false fire alarms accounted for 40 per cent of the incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England for the period – fires accounted for just 26 per cent.

Repeated false alarms reduce the public’s confidence in fire alarms, contributing to alarm fatigue and a complacent attitude toward evacuations. Alarm fatigue occurs when a person becomes desensitised to an alarm due to repeated false alarms and as a result, fails to react appropriately in an emergency.

Safety Technology International manufacture a range of protective covers, specifically designed to prevent false alarms whether accidental or malicious.

The STI story began in 1980 with a challenge by a school headteacher who wanted to stop their false fire alarms. Founder, Jack Taylor, used his expertise in security systems to invent the first and original Stopper® polycarbonate protective cover. From integral covers to outdoor and sounder models, there are now variations to suit all applications.

The tamper-proof polycarbonate covers ensure call points are protected without restricting legitimate use in a real emergency, a combination of optional warning alarm, flashing beacon and break seal acts as a deterrent against malicious activation.

In Wales, malicious false fire alarms rose by 33% to 426 during 2021-22, the highest figure for half a decade. And with similar figures reflected across the UK, over £1 billion is lost every year due to false alarms.

To recoup this cost the London Fire Brigade became the first fire service in the country to recover costs from buildings like hospitals, airports and student halls with a poor false alarm record.

Firefighters respond to fire signals as if they are real, this exposes the public and fire crew to unnecessary risk in their swift response to false alarms, directing them away from real emergencies.

Under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order Act 2005, it is the responsibility of the building owner or the “responsible person” to ensure effective fire precautions are in place to protect staff, customers or visitors.

Several precautionary steps can be implemented to prevent false fire alarms before they occur; routine testing and maintenance of call points is a must to ensure proper operation, but it is not the only proactive approach.

As recommended in BS 5839-1:2017, manual call points can be fitted with a protective cover to prevent false fire alarms. The British Standard Institute recommends in section 20.2b), that: “All MCPs should be fitted with a protective cover, which is moved to gain access to the frangible element.

“It is now recommended that a protective cover is fitted to a Type A manual call point to help prevent false alarms.”