Fire Alarm Systems provide an early warning of fire and are one of the most effective ways to keep premises and occupants safe in the event of a fire. However, most signals from these systems are not actual fires – they are false alarms often caused by cooking fumes, dust or a lack of maintenance.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will no longer attend automatic fire alarm (AFA) call outs to premises such as schools, offices, shops and leisure facilities unless a fire has been confirmed. This change does not apply to sleeping premises, such as care homes and HMOs, or domestic dwellings. These will continue to get an emergency response.
As a manager with responsibility for fire safety, you must ensure that your premises are safe for staff, visitors and occupants in the event of a fire. In addition to arrangements for effective evacuation in the event of an emergency, you must now also put in place arrangements to safely investigate a fire alarm before calling 999.
Information on this page will help those with responsibility for fire safety develop and implement suitable arrangements for their premises. A frequently asked questions document is available below to help answer queries.