Automatic Fire Alarm Systems
How To Prevent False Alarms

Whenever automatic fire alarms on business premises are activated through false alarms, it not only disrupts the work and productivity of the business whose alarm it is, but it also wastes the valuable time of the fire services. While we all have an obvious interest in avoiding disruption to our businesses, it is also in our interest to ensure that our fire services are able to give their time to real emergency situations. After all, it could be your premises that are the real emergency.

If a fire alarm is activated and there is no apparent reason, it is tempting to just carry on if it seems to have rectified itself, but it really is important to make sure you understand why the alarm has gone off. This is partly so that you can ensure that it does not happen again, but more importantly, it could be a sign that there is a malfunction somewhere in your system. If you have a problem in the alarm system and you ignore it, the alarm may not work properly when there is a real fire.

There are a great deal of false alarms in places of business, and the majority of them are caused by people in the building either not being aware that there is an automatic alarm on the premises, or not understanding the kind of activities that might set it off. These problems can be greatly reduced by following a few simple procedures:

Make Sure Everyone Who Uses Your Building Knows That You Have An Automatic Fire Alarm

• Get the message across to all staff through including it in your induction procedure for new staff and as part of health and safety training for all staff.
• Put up notices at all the entrances to your premises, so that no-one can enter without seeing the signs. The following is suggested wording:
  "This building has an automatic fire alarm system in place. Before carrying out any work involving flame, smoke, sparks or heat, you must obtain permission from the Site Manager"

Ensure that no-one is able to carry out any 'hot works' without proper authorisation from the designated person responsible for agreeing such works.

• Make sure that you inform all staff about the proper procedures for getting permission to carry out work involving flames, smoke, sparks or heat.
• Ensure that this information is passed on through staff induction procedures and include it in all documented operating procedures, staff handbooks, etc.
• Set up a 'Hot Works Permit' system to make sure that any external contractor working in your building follows the safe systems of work that you set out.
• Make this condition an integral part of any contracts or agreements you have for contractors or anyone else who may be working on your premises.

If you have smoke detectors in any areas of your premises, make sure that any activity involving the generation of dust or the use of spray paint is not permitted in those areas, unless the detectors are protected first.

• Appoint a person from your staff to be personally responsible for dealing with this issue and other health and safety matters. Avoid any vagueness about where responsibility lies and have a single named person who is held to account.
• In order to maintain the alarm system in a fully functional state during such works, the best option is to replace the smoke detectors with heat detectors, but this can only be done by a suitably qualified engineer.
• The alternative to swapping to heat detectors is to cover and protect the smoke detectors during the period of work (with paper, plastic, etc).
• Alternatively, you will need to cover the smoke detectors with a protective covering, such as paper or plastic, to prevent activation during the works.
• Please note that covering smoke detectors should only be undertaken with careful planning, as your system will not work properly if a real fire should occur.
• If you are going to cover the detectors, you should first assess the risks involved and put alternative measures in place to minimise these. This may mean designating an extra person to be in the area for the period the detectors are covered, and for them to have a specific brief to guard against fire.
• Someone should have specific responsibility for making sure that the smoke detectors are properly uncovered again when the work is over. Again, make sure there is no doubt about whose job this is or how important it is. You must ensure that the detectors are put back in working order as soon as possible.
• Once the work is over and any covering is removed, you should test the alarm system to ensure that the detectors are functioning properly.



Putting these guidelines into practice will help to eliminate a large proportion of false alarms and save both you and the Fire Service a lot of wasted time.















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