With a false alarm rate of 58% recorded in 2014-15 – mainly due to dust, steam, insects and aerosols – costs are running at more than £1 bn a year through evacuations, production down time and annoyance to customers, with hospitals the worst culprits.
But Robin Kemp of Advanced told the group: “EN54-13 in Europe is getting closer to the UK. This is mainly about third-party testing to ensure that components of a system are working well together.
“Verification options have been specified in EN54-2 Annex E.
“There are a suite of options and strategies to consider, including verification or investigation delays, and building areas being divided more into sub-zones.”
Mr Kemp concluded: “British Standards ARE helping the problem. With false alarms, there is a lot more focus than there has ever been before.”
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