A new guide on reducing false and unwanted fire alarms aimed at the end user and ‘responsible’ person has been published by the Fire Industry Association.
Guidance for Responsible Persons on False Alarms Management aims to give general advice on how to manage and reduce false alarms from a building’s fire detection and alarm system.
The guide points out the main causes and classifications of false alarms and raises questions such as whether the existing system is fully compliant with current legislation, and whether specific persons are responsible for managing the system and recording events such as genuine and false alarms, faults and tests.
The importance of fire action plans, the provision of competent service providers, investigative and rectification processes for troublesome systems and the way records are kept are also covered. The FIA points out, however, that the guide is not a substitute for detailed advice in specific circumstances.
“False alarms cost money, waste resources and impact on the trust placed in fire detection systems by ordinary people and the fire services alike,” says the FIA. “They also divert the attention of the rescue services when there might be a genuine need for their intervention elsewhere.”
The guide also lists further sources of information on false alarms.
Download the FIA guide here
