Time running out to have a say on fire alarm consultation

Fire bosses across Devon and Somerset say there's only a few more days left to have a say on plans to stop automatically responding to some fire alarms.

It's after only 42 incidents out of 55,000 alarms in five years needed a hose jet, as the service reponds to 16 alarms a day on average.

Bosses say they'll still automatically respsond to places like houses, care homes and heritage settings - but potentially not places like some offices or industrial units.

Project Executive Paul Compton said: “What we are trying to achieve with this project is to make sure we are responding to genuine emergencies.

"The 12-week consultation closes at midday on Wednesday 9 April and the responses will inform an independent report that will be produced for senior managers to make a decision.

"Our firefighters are attending thousands of automatic fire alarms that turn out to be false alarms every year. We have a range of options that set out how we might change our response so that we can provide a better service to our communities.

"Last year, our crews responded to an average of 16 false alarms every day due to automatic fire alarms, placing an unnecessary burden on the Service’s resources and our ability to be ready and available for genuine emergencies.

"We’re looking to see how we can reduce the number of automatic fire alarms we attend to make our Service more efficient, and make sure our firefighters are able to respond to genuine emergencies.  

"We will always attend if someone has reported a sign of fire. We will also always attend domestic properties, such as houses, or where there is a known night-time sleeping risk. The proposed changes only relate to what we will do in response to an automatic alert."

The following types of premises are deemed to be low risk (and part of the consultation)

Retail

Offices and call centres

Industrial manufacturing

Education

Entertainment and culture

Warehouses and bulk storage

Public administration

Food and drink

Sporting venues

Vehicle repair

Religious buildings

Transport buildings.

For more details click here

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