Fire alarm false alarms.
Unwanted alarms are disruptive and dangerous if people start ignoring them. Most have an identifiable cause.
Common causes
- Cooking fumes and steam near smoke detectors, in kitchens, corridors and bathrooms
- Dust and insects in detectors, especially after building work
- Wrong detector type for the location
- Damaged or faulty devices, or water ingress
- Contractors creating dust or heat without protecting detectors
- Deliberate or accidental operation of call points
- Ageing equipment and end-of-life detectors
What to do
- Record every alarm in the logbook, with time and likely cause
- Look for patterns: same device, same time of day
- Do not cover, disable or remove detectors yourself
- Call a competent engineer to investigate
Fixes we use
- Swap to a heat detector or multi-sensor where smoke detectors don’t suit. See detector types
- Relocate or reposition a detector, within the standard
- Clean or replace devices as part of servicing
- Adjust sensitivity or delays on addressable systems, where the design allows
- Manage contractors with detector covers and permits, removed afterwards
Never ignore an alarmTreat every alarm as real until it has been checked. Repeated false alarms are a reason to fix the cause, not to switch the system off.
If the fire and rescue service attends repeated false alarms, they may contact the premises about it.
Common questions.
Why does my fire alarm keep going off?
The most common causes are cooking fumes, dust, the wrong type of detector, faults and building work. A competent engineer can identify which.
Can I disable a detector that keeps false alarming?
No. A disabled detector leaves part of the building unprotected. Have the cause fixed.
Will a different type of detector help?
Often. A heat detector or multi-sensor in a kitchen-adjacent area is a common fix.
Speak to a fire engineer.
Call, message or send the form. We reply the same working day wherever we can.
