11 Steps to Prevent False Fire Alarms

11 Steps to Prevent False Fire Alarms

False Fire Alarm Prevention Tips

Fire departments respond to a staggering number of false alarms—2,000,000 annually—and the problem is more than just an annoyance. Nuisance alarms can be harmful to businesses; they can also have unfortunate consequences for first responders and the community. Here are 4 big problems with false fire alarms:

1. False fire alarms disrupt business. Building occupants must not ignore a fire alarm, even if they consider it to be a false alarm. No one can return to their workspace, classroom, or to a place of commerce until the fire department has given an “all clear” notice. An evacuation must occur, no matter the weather or the time of day.
2. Frequent false alarms desensitize occupants. If occupants grow accustomed to hearing an alarm without a fire it seriously slows the response time to the alarm. This creates a dangerous situation in the case of a real emergency that can result in significant risk to life.
3. Fire alarms engage first responder resources. An alarm triggers a response from at least one vehicle for the amount of time it takes to travel to the location and investigate the facility carefully for a fire. If another emergency arises, the responding inspection pulls resources away from an optimal location, which can affect the result of an emergency response.
4. The financial cost for false alarms. Some first response teams charge a fee or fine to building owners for fire alarms. They try to recover the cost of the trip and inspection. This fee may apply whether the false alarm was triggered accidentally or intentionally.

For these reasons and more, it is in your best interest to reduce the number of false fire alarms in your buildings.

Common reasons for false fire alarms. Fire alarm and suppression systems are very reliable and seldom give alarms without a reason. If you are inspecting and maintaining your systems properly, you have little to be concerned about false alarms. Most causes of false alarms are preventable; here are some of the most common causes, compiled by fire protection technicians.

• Component failure is often a problem in older systems
• Dirt or dust on the sensors/failing to clean components
• Turning on the furnace at the beginning of the heating season
• Failing to put the system on test mode during construction or other situations that might create a fire alarm
• Improperly placed smoke or heat detectors
• Lightning strikes
• Rodent damage
• Human-caused false alarms

11 Steps to Prevent False Fire Alarms

1. The first and best step to prevent false alarms is to choose the right professional company to inspect and maintain your system regularly.
2. Train your staff to properly operate your system and troubleshoot small problems. This includes keeping smoke detectors free of dust that might trick sensors.
3. Determine whether smoke detectors are placed properly.
   • Too close to a laundry room
   • Too close to the HVAC system
   • Recognize environmental factors that might trigger false alarms
4. Recognize locations that might result in accidental activations or malicious activations. Install security cameras and plastic pull station covers to prevent both pranks and accidental alarms.
5. Keep filters in place in the exhaust. Removing filters allow dirt and grease to pass through to electrical components, which can lead to false alarms.
6. Power surges due to lightning strikes can trigger false alarms and false activations. Installing surge protectors at crucial connection points can help prevent this type of false alarm.
7. Limit cooking to areas with appropriate exhaust fans. Simple cooking tasks, such as toasting bread can trigger false alarms.
8. Allow smoking only in designated locations. Cigarettes and cigars may not trigger the sprinkler system, but they might trigger a smoke alarm. Install the appropriate detectors anywhere people smoke.
9. Remember that aerosol sprays can trigger a smoke detector. Train staff to be careful during cleaning with aerosol or spray products near smoke alarm sensors.
10. Install protective cages in high traffic areas at risk of impact damage. Train staff to be aware of the detectors and sensors.
11. Inform remote alarm monitoring centers ahead of time when testing the system or beginning work that might set off an alarm.

Have questions about False Fire Alarm Prevention?

Call Fire Safe Protection Services today at 713-722-7800 or visit our online form and we will be in contact as soon as possible about False Fire Alarm Prevention questions.

¹ https://www.statistics.com/famous-errors-in-statistics-its-not-what-you-might-think/