Fire alarms are essential to protect your premises and occupants against fire damage and potentially catastrophic harm. Current UK fire alarm regulations dictate that all business premises must have “an appropriate fire detection system”.
Yet sometimes errors can occur, leading to a false fire alarm activation. False fire alarms are disruptive and costly to your business and cause a nuisance to your neighbours. But more importantly, they could keep the fire and rescue service from responding to a real fire emergency.
So, what causes false fire alarms, and how can you minimise them?
Common causes of false fire alarms
1. Activation of smoke alarms
Often false fire alarms are triggered from activities near fire detectors, particularly smoke detectors. The culprits include:
- Cooking fumes, especially toasters. To prevent this from occurring, install heat detectors instead of smoke detectors, restrict cooking to designated locations and use appropriate extractor fans.
- Steam from shower rooms. Ensure the shower room has adequate ventilation and keep doors to the outer rooms closed to stop steam from escaping.
- Cigarette smoke is a common cause of smoke alarm activation. To address this issue, designate smoking areas away from smoke alarms.
- Dust can trigger a false alarm. So if you’re carrying out dusty work within your premises, fit temporary covers during the activity. But ensure you remove them immediately after the work is complete.
- Aerosol sprays such as deodorant and hair spray can set off smoke detectors. Prevent their use in the vicinity of smoke and fire alarm detector heads.
If your work at your premises generates fumes, steam and dust, you’ll require a specialist extraction system.
2. Activation of manual break glass call point
Rarely do false alarms occur due to faulty manual break glass call points. More often, they’re triggered accidentally (by something bumping into them) or are set off maliciously. You can minimise the chances of this occurring by:
- Protecting susceptible break glass call points with approved covers or guards to prevent accidental damage.
- Placing the call point where it’s less likely to get damaged.
- Locating the call point in an appropriate area that is less prone to vandalism.
3. Lack of appropriate maintenance
Poorly maintained fire alarm equipment may develop faults within the system, which cause it to activate false alarms. Regular servicing and maintenance of your fire alarm system by a certified fire alarm company will ensure it’s working correctly and avoid false alarms.
You should also test your alarm once a month, vacuum it every six months and replace the batteries annually if they’re lead or alkaline.
4. Incorrect positioning of detectors
Using the wrong detectors or incorrectly positioning them can lead to false alarms. Employing a certified fire alarm company to install your fire alarm system will prevent this issue.
Please get in touch if you’re having issues with your fire safety system or would like some help with a new installation. You can call us on 01392 368830 or please complete our contact form.