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Adam Bannister is a contributor to IFSEC Global, having been in the role of Editor from 2014 through to November 2019. Adam also had stints as a journalist at cybersecurity publication, The Daily Swig, and as Managing Editor at Dynamis Online Media Group.
With poor installation and maintenance prime culprits, better education of both installers and users is clearly important in the fight against false fire alarms.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) hopes that the threat of a financial penalty might induce people to get themselves educated.
In a bid to encourage facilities managers to ensure systems are properly installed and maintained the LFB has, since January, imposed £290 fines on those responsible for more than 10 false alarm call-outs a year (the fine does not apply to care homes or domestic properties, however).
But might increasingly sophisticated technologies eventually eliminate the problem?
The latest generation of fire detectors are more sophisticated at measuring the environment and distinguishing real fire from other phenomena. False alarm triggers include steam, smoking materials, poor housekeeping, humidity and temperature change.
And the number of false alarms has been falling, with a 6% drop registered over the period 2011-2012, according to government figures.
What was the biggest factor in this fall? Greater awareness among facilities managers and building owners or among installers? Or improving technology?
Each year false alarm call-outs cost London £37m and the wider economy around £1bn in lost productivity. Among the most prolific offenders are hospitals, airports and student accommodation.
Automatic systems account for 40,000 call outs – one third of all incidents – in the capital.
“The vast bulk of automatic fire-alarm calls turn out not to be fires,” says James Cleverly, chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, which decided to levy the call-out charge. “These are often caused by poor management or maintenance of alarm systems.”
Tony O’Brien, head of sales for the Siemens Building Technologies Solution and Service Portfolio, agrees and believes education is the solution: “Fire alarm and detection systems should not cause false alarms. If an organisation suffers from excessive false alarms, it is down to poor technology or mismanagement.
“A false alarm is referred to as an ‘unwanted fire signal’ as soon as the fire service is summoned. There is a need to properly educate building and facilities managers about the benefits of the right technology to minimise unwanted alarms and how to properly maintain their fire alarm systems.”
Choosing and applying the correct fire detectors for the location and application reduces the chances of a false alarm from the detector itself. Fire alarm companies bear responsibility for installing and maintaining technology but also to advise on best use and minimisation of potential unwanted fire signals.
O’Brien claims that Siemens’ Sinteso fire alarm system can “eliminate potential false alarms due to environmental influences such as welding or steam, etc.”
Integrated into Sinteso is Advanced Signal Analysis, which uses detection algorithms to convert signals like smoke density and temperature into mathematical gradients. Optical, thermal and electrochemical CO sensors monitor smoke, heat and carbon monoxide levels.
“Alarm systems save lives, protect your business, your reputation and property,” says O’Brien. “As well as this they save the building and reduce the risk of having to make a large insurance claim.
“There is a danger that repeated false alarms can contribute to the downgrade of the fire service response. Furthermore, excessive unwanted fire signals can lead to complacency, putting lives at risk if and when there is a real fire.”
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Education, Fines or Improving Technology? The Fight Against False AlarmsDetectors are increasingly sophisticated at distinguishing real fire from other phenomena. Could improving technology ultimately eliminate false alarms?
Adam Bannister
IFSEC Insider | Security and Fire News and Resources
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