Berkshire firefighters to ignore some automatic alarms
Until now the Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service has attended all automatic fire alarms
Firefighters in Berkshire say they'll no longer attend all automatic fire alarms - because the vast majority are false.
RBFRS say they'll continue to attend automatic fire alarm notifications at schools, at higher risk buildings and where anyone sleeps, such as hotels, hospitals, care homes, houses, and flats.
In all cases, an emergency response will continue to be sent to 999 calls and confirmed fires.
RBFRS say they need to change the way it responds to automatic fire alarm notifications to ensure communities and firefighters are kept safe. This is because 99% of the automatic fire alarm calls received are false alarms. They add that attending these types of incidents takes time and resource and therefore causes significant disruption to the delivery of essential services and training.
Members of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority decided to make the change following a public consultation, which attracted a total of 389 responses during the consultation period.
Helpful
Councillor Jeff Brooks, Chair of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority said:
“I would like to thank all those who responded during the consultation period. The comments provided were very helpful in assisting the Fire Authority Members to reach a decision on the best way forward. The Authority very much took in to account the views of residents and other respondents in coming to its decision.”
The changes align with neighbouring fire and rescue services in the Thames Valley. Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service are currently running a six month pilot following the same AFA guidance and Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service will introduce the same measures on 10 October.
Ahead of the changes, RBFRS is running an awareness campaign to help owners of premises affected by this change, to understand the change and ensure that they are meeting their responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Collaboration
Jim Powell, Area Manager for Collaboration and Policy, said:
“Alignment of our response to Automatic Fire Alarms is the latest example of collaboration between the fire and rescue services of the Thames Valley.
“Ahead of the changes, we will be sharing information on our website and social media, as well as engaging with as many affected premises as possible to ensure they are aware of the change and continue to have adequate fire safety measures in place.”