IRMP Pre-consultation July 2006

This situation is having an adverse effect on both public and Firefighter safety and is a growing concern, a situation the Fire and Rescue Service is determined to counter through a sensible assessment of calls as they are received. The Deputy Chief Fire Officer Chris Anderson said “The intention is to filter out false alarms, if there is the slightest doubt the appliances will be mobilised. The procedure will be fail safe on such occasions.” He continues “This is not about household smoke alarms or premises that have a life risk, as they will be responded to as normal. The new procedure will apply to low risk commercial properties and applying a common sense approach to checking the validity of the call received”.

Chris Anderson highlights the risks associated with such calls, “It is recognised that responding under blue light conditions is potentially dangerous to the crews involved, other road users and pedestrians. On top of that genuine calls may not get an immediate response if the local crew have been called to a false alarm at the same time.  Good practice shows that this situation can be better managed and other Fire & Rescue Services have successfully proved that false alarms can be filtered out.” He continues “This leaves the local Fire Crews to respond to genuine calls and allows more time for community safety initiatives, which are proving so successful at reducing the trauma and tragic consequences associated with fire deaths and injuries. Our latest performance figures support this view.  He finishes by saying “It would be irresponsible for anyone to argue against a proposal that will improve safety and given the identified benefits, it would not be in the best interests of the public if we did not to tackle this issue”.

It is proposed that the new measures will only apply to low risk commercial premises during daylight hours. Buildings with a sleeping risk will still receive an attendance.

In support of this initiative the Fire Authority are hopeful that those commercial premises that have such systems will work with the Service by ensuring the main reasons for such calls are eradicated, those being the continued use of old and poorly installed systems and a lack of testing and servicing.

Copies of the consultation document and details of all community safety proposals contained within the Integrated Risk Management Plan 2007/08 can be found on our website www.northyorksfire.gov.uk or paper copies can be requested by calling 01609 788501.