COMBINED FIRE AUTHORITY

Transcription

1 Item No 8 Safest People, Safest Places COMBINED FIRE AUTHORITY 27 MARCH 2012 REVISED ATTENDANCE TO AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARMS REPORT OF DIRECTOR COMMUNITY PROTECTION Purpose of Report 1. This report details the proposed alteration to the Service s procedure regarding the pre-determined attendance to premises that generate fire calls via an Automatic Fire Alarm System (AFA). Background 2. Over the last 6 years the Service has had a procedure in place which targets the worst offending premises in relation to false alarms generated by an AFA system. This process has proved successful with the result that the number of calls attended has reduced dramatically; however, we are starting to see a natural plateau whereby it has become more difficult to reduce false alarms significantly further by this approach alone. 3. The activation of a fire alarm system within a premise, when there is no fire, which is then transmitted to the Fire and Rescue Service, is classified as an unwanted fire signal (UWFS). These fire calls are received into the Service by either the occupier dialling the 999 system directly, or via an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). 4. The role of an ARC is to monitor a building s fire alarm system remotely and then either contact the occupiers of the building to gather further information and/or pass the fire call directly to the relevant fire control. When the ARCs contact the fire control they state that the Automatic Fire Alarm System is activating in a premise; providing fire control with the name and address of the building. 5. UWFS fall into two categories and are recorded by the Service as either an AFA (no fire but the Service has attended) or an ANT (Alarm Not Attended). An ANT occurs when either fire control call challenge the caller who informs them that there is definitely no fire and the call is for information purposes only, or when the premises call fire control a second time and state that following a check of the building they do not require the Service to attend. 6. In 2005 DDFRS were in the lower quartile for attending UWFS with 20% of total calls being of this type against the national average of 40%. However, the Service still attended 2619 UWFS calls. (Table 1) For 2006 the call 1

2 challenging procedure was introduced along with a proactive approach involving engaging with businesses to seek ways of reducing the number of false alarms caused by AFA s. As a result the Service has seen a year on year reduction with the number of UWFS calls received in 2011 being 1520 equating to approximately 40% less turnouts than Table 1 Total number of UWFS Total Number of UWFS + AFA Total Reduction Turnout 76,750 41,750 9,750 60,750 53,500 32, /TO Total year on year savings 76, , , , , ,750 AFA s ATTENDED 2010 / Although call challenging has reduced the number of calls attended, during the period 1 st April 2010 and 31 st March 2011 the Service, out of a total of 7939 incidents, still responded to 1080 UWFS calls as a result of AFA systems. Table 2 Total number of AFAs by station (1080 calls) 2

3 National Picture 8. Several Fire Authorities in England and Wales have, or are, considering introducing changes to their pre determined attendance to fire calls generated by AFA systems. 9. These proposed changes range from non attendance to any premises unless verified by a fire call from the occupier (Kent FRS 2012) to non attendance to persistent recidivist false alarm premises unless relevant 999 fire call received (West Yorkshire FRS). Appendix A provides further details of other Service proposals. 10. Any alteration to the Services current procedure will follow the spirit of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) Protocol for the Reduction of False Alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals (September 2010). This protocol recognises that buildings with numerous detection devices will experience a degree of false alarms and mirrors the guidance in the British Standard 5839 Part regarding what is an acceptable level of false activations. 11. CFOA are currently developing a new protocol which will provide further guidance on this subject in due course. Options for change considered 12. At present the Service attends all AFAs that call challenge does not filter out. Options that have been considered by the Service to reduce the number of appliance turnouts include: o Service to charge commercial and domestic properties (using the Localism Bill) that experience UWFS. It should be understood that some larger commercial buildings will experience activations and remain within the recognised system performance levels. It may also be considered by some organisations that they were now paying for the Service to form part of their management of their fire alarm systems and fire procedures. The administration of a charging policy and procedure will require additional personnel and would need to ensure that the Fire Authority did not incur any profit or loss during any financial year. Charging domestic properties may have a negative public relations impact. o Not attend the recidivist offenders recorded in the previous 12 months. The Service has procedures in place that use the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order to provide guidance and advice and enforcement if required within these premises some of which are deemed to be high risk premises. o Not attend low and medium risk commercial properties during periods when buildings can be assumed to be adequately staffed to ensure that a fire would be identified in its early stages. Proposed Option 13. The new procedure proposed would involve fire control advising the operators of ARC S and occupants of commercial premises that unless there is a confirmed fire call, the Service would not be attending. It is proposed that this would operate between 09:00 hours until 17:00 hours Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). 3

4 14. This proposal will be aimed at what is considered to be low to medium risk premises and therefore any premises with a sleeping risk (e.g. Residential Care Homes, Hospitals, Sheltered Accommodation and other private dwellings) or high risk (e.g. COMAH sites, heritage buildings etc.) would not be included in a revised response. 15. Of the 1080 AFA calls attended in 2010/11, 282 calls occurred in low to medium non sleeping risk premises between 09:00-17:00; Monday - Friday; this equates to approximately 4% of the total incidents attended during the year. (see appendix B) 16. The type of premises that generated the AFA during the proposed nonattendance time (09:00 17:00; Monday Friday) included Retail (59), Industrial Manufacturing (51), Education (44), Offices and Call Centres (37), Public Admin buildings (24) and Warehouses (18); as designated by the Incident Recording System (IRS). 17. Although all fire station areas with the exception of Station 13 (Middleton-in- Teesdale), experienced a proportion of AFAs; Stn. 15 Darlington and Stn. 06 Durham attended the significantly highest number at 71 and 46 AFAs respectively. Table 2 Location of AFAs during proposed non-attendance period 18. Within the 1080 incidents that were identified by AFA systems 43 of these were an actual fire. Of these 43, only nine fires occurred between 09:00-17:00; Monday - Friday. Three of the nine occurred in some form of sleeping accommodation (a domestic, a residential care home and a sheltered housing building) and therefore the Service would have attended as normal. The fires in the non residential premises were as follows, a) Dolphin Leisure Centre, electrical fault created a small fire in coffee vending machine in canteen, identified by AFA and automatic call to Service. 1 pump, no action by FRS. b) Thorn Lighting, fire in plant room, discovered by a person and call made by person to Service. 1 pump, no action by FRS, allowed to burnout. 4

5 c) Van Mildert shop, faulty electric oven in canteen, identified by AFA and automatic call to Service. 2 pumps, no action by FRS. d) Walkers Snack Foods, deep fat fryer overheated, discovered by a person and call made by person to Service (call also received by AFA), hose reel from appliance used. e) Spennymoor Council Offices, faulty electrical appliance in office, identified by AFA and automatic call to Service. 3 pumps, no action by FRS. f) Stillers Group warehouse, fire started in storage pallets, discovered by a person and call made by person to Service, AFA received also; 10 pumps and multi jets used by the Service. 19. In 2009/10 there were only five AFA incidents in low risk premises that were actual fires, three required no action by Fire Service, one required the use of a hose reel and the other a hand held extinguisher. 20. From April 2011 January 2012 eleven AFA s were attended none of which required intervention by the Fire Service. Advantages to the Service from the procedure change 21. The advantages to the service include a) Appliance movements will be reduced by approximately 282 incidents per year; b) Appliances will be available for other emergency calls; c) Fewer disturbances for crews when carrying out work routines such as, Fire Safety, Community Safety and operational training which will lead to increased performance. (It is estimated that responding to an alarm, liaising with the occupier and completing the IRS takes approximately 30 minutes); d) Road risk through blue light mobilisation will be reduced; e) Fuel costs will be reduced. Possible disadvantages to the Service from the procedure change 22. Without an effective communication strategy from the Service it is possible for there to be an adverse reaction from the public and commerce which may cause some reputational damage to the service. 23. Possibility that this procedure could lead to a delay in attending a fire; however, evidence collated suggests the risk of this is very low and the Services procedure could even be considered conservative in its approach compared to others. Next Steps 5

6 24. Prior to the implementation of a new AFA procedure and strategy the Service will undertake a period of consultation with the commercial sectors that will be affected by any changes. 25. The Services IRMP will need to be reviewed to include any proposed changes to the risks within the Service. Any alteration to the IRMP will again be dependent upon the relevant consultation procedures. 26. Legal advice has been sought with from a specialist Fire Safety legal team who have indicated that the proposal is not in contravention of any legislation. However, the consultation will continue to seek clarity on any legal questions that may be raised during consultation. 27. The Service will undertake a consultation and communications strategy that will focus on the commercial sector. The strategy will provide information on the actions that employers and the Responsible Person should take in the event of an AFA within their premises and remind owners/occupiers of their obligations with regards to workplace fire safety and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order This strategy will be delivered through a number of channels such as: a) Individual mailing to premises (identified via the Community Protection and Prevention Unwanted Fire Signal Offenders List); b) Blanket mailing to all relevant business premises identified within the CFRMIS database; c) Consultation with Fire Alarm Monitoring Organisations (FAMO); d) The Services website; e) Fire Liaison panel; f) Communications to the wider public with justification via local press and the Services Facebook and Twitter sites. Recommendations 28. The Members are requested to: (a) (b) note the contents of the report and discuss the implications for revising attendance to AFA s agree that consultation commences with the relevant stakeholders on the proposal and that the results of this be reported back to the authority for consideration prior to a decision on approving the proposal. Appendix A 6

7 FRS REVISED RESPONSES TO AFA s Kent: From 2012 no attendance unless fire can be verified. Berkshire: No attendance between 9am and 9pm unless fire can be verified. Essex: No attendance to offices, shops and factories unless fire can be verified. Norfolk: Reduced attendance at all times unless fire has been verified. Northamptonshire: No attendance to low-risk premises unless a fire is confirmed. Staffordshire: Reduced attendance unless fire is verified. Warwickshire: No attendance between 7am and 8pm unless fire is confirmed. West Midlands: No attendance between 7am and 8pm to low-risk premises unless fire is confirmed. West Yorkshire: No attendance to persistent false alarm premises unless 999 call received. Cumbria: May suspend attendance to persistent offenders. Greater Manchester: Reduced attendance unless fire is confirmed. Lancashire: Reduced attendance unless fire is confirmed. 7

8 Appendix B Table A Type of AFAs during Table B Number of AFAs attended in non-sleeping risks 8

9 Table D Type of non-sleeping risks premises experiencing AFA Monday to Friday 9