The problem
Between April 1 2014 and March 31 2015, fire crews were called out to thousands of incidents which turned out to be false alarms. Fire Chiefs say each false alarm can cost the Service an average of £2,000 which means 1,000 false alarms cost the service a whopping £2million.
False fire alarms pull resources to what may be an unwanted fire alarm call which can often be a result of accidental damage or vandalism, when it could be required to attend a real life emergency in another area of the local community. Almost all these false fire alarms are preventable.
In the period 2011-2012, Fire Rescue Services in Britain received 584,500 callouts; 53.4% of which were false alarms. As well as being a considerable drain on fire authority resources, this causes business disruptions, which can lead to reduced productivity.
Unwanted false fire alarm calls are an on-going issue for the Fire Service, not only do they interfere with training, community work and fund raising, the public and crew can also be subject to unnecessary risk due to having to travel at high speeds in order to respond. More importantly they can impede on saving lives in a real emergency.
In October 2006 the law changed and introduced The Regulatory Reform Order (RRO) 2005, which stipulates that employers and business owners have to appoint a ‘Responsible Person’ to manage and maintain suitable fire detection equipment and arrange for any remedial work and preventive action to be implemented.
However, unprotected fire equipment is an easy target for someone to activate or vandalise without being identified, in some instances they can be accidentally activated by people bumping into them, either way such situations are time consuming and costly. Investing in suitable protective equipment can act as a deterrent and save time, money and more importantly, lives.
The solution
Sigma Fire & Security, based in Birmingham, are manufacturers and distributors of specialist fire safety and security products. Their range of Smart + products aid in the prevention of vandalism, accidental alarm activation and misuse.
The Smart+Guard range of products are constructed from robust polycarbonate and provide a tough tamper resistant protective cover. The Smart+Guard has a unique fully rotational hinge, which also combats vandalism and stops replacement covers being needed. They can be fitted with an integral battery powered alarm, that when activated emits an ear piercing 90db pre-alarm, warning the operator that the device is for emergency use only. By adding a sounder to the Smart+Guard the number of instances of malicious tampering drops to zero in 90% of establishments now fitted with the device.
The Smart+Guard is cost effective and available in a selection of colours, making them aesthetically more attractive than other products on the market. This makes them suitable for a wide variety of environments such as schools, hospitals, prisons, detention centres, care homes, stadiums, and shopping centres.
For more information about Sigma Fire & Security please contact the sales office on 0121 7007451 or visit www.sigmafs.com
