Crews to stop responding to some automatic fire alarms
The fire service says some alarms will still trigger an automatic response, with others being withdrawn in phases
Devon and Somerset's fire crews will now stop automatically attending some fire alarms at certain buildings - after being called to thousands of false alarms
In the past five years to March, crews were alerted to 58,000 alarms with only 1.7 per cent of those classed as emergencies.
A report going before this week's fire authority warns: "This places an unnecessary burden on the service’s resources and ability to be ready and available for genuine emergencies."
These changes are expected to save the Service ÂŁ178,577 a year.
Chief Fire Officer Gavin Ellis said: “These changes will help us to keep our fire crews available for real emergencies and prevention work rather than attending false alarms.
“We will always attend if someone has reported a sign of fire. The changes are only to what we will do in response to an automatic alert, not a report of a fire.
“We will also always attend single domestic properties, such as houses, or where there is a known night-time sleeping risk.
"The changes extend the policy introduced 12 years ago, when the service stopped attending automatic fire alarms at non-domestic properties during weekday working hours, unless there was a confirmed fire. Business owners have a responsibility to make sure they have the necessary warning systems and procedures in place. These changes make it even more important to have a safe way of reporting a sign of fire."
The following changes will be implemented from 4 November 2025.
• Industrial and commercial – 24 hours non-attendance to automatic fire alarms unless confirmed signs of fire.
• Retail and public assembly – 24 hours non-attendance to automatic fire alarms unless confirmed signs of fire (maintaining out-of-term-time cover for schools).
• Residential – phased approach to introduce non-attendance to automatic fire alarms during daytime hours, unless confirmed signs of fire.
Within the residential category, the Service will:
• exempt care homes, houses of multiple occupation, and sheltered accommodation
• carry out a phased approach, starting with prisons, boarding schools, and hospitals that are not exempt.
Some buildings are already exempt, and we will continue to respond to automatic fire alarms at those premises.