Fire Service Seeks Public Input on Automatic Fire Alarm Responses
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service wants your thoughts on handling automatic fire alarms to improve efficiency and response times
Devon, Somerset, Fire Service, Automatic Fire Alarms, Public Consultation
Devon: The Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is reaching out to the community for feedback on how they handle automatic fire alarms. They’ve noticed a big issue with false alarms, responding to about 16 of them every single day.
This situation is really stretching their resources thin. The fire service wants to make sure they’re ready for real emergencies, not just running around for false alarms. Over the past five years, they’ve been called out to more than 55,000 automatic fire alarms, but only 42 of those actually needed a fire engine. That’s less than 0.08 percent!
So, they’re looking for ways to cut down on these unnecessary calls. Chief Fire Officer Gavin Ellis reassured everyone that they’ll still respond to any signs of fire and will always check on homes, especially where people might be sleeping at night.
He understands that changes can make folks uneasy, but he emphasized that any adjustments would only affect how they respond to automatic alerts, not actual fire reports. If you want to share your thoughts, there’s a public survey on their website, and they’re also hosting focus groups to discuss the options.
For more details, you can email them or give them a call. They really want to hear from you!