Last few days to respond to the automatic fire alarm consultation

There is less than a week to go for residents and business owners to tell Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service what you think about how they should respond to automatic fire alarms.

The 12-week consultation closes at midday on Wednesday 9 April and the responses will inform an independent report that will be produced for senior managers to make a decision.

Firefighters are attending thousands of automatic fire alarms that turn out to be false alarms every year. The service have a range of options that set out how they might change their response so that they can provide a better service to the communities.

Project Executive Paul Compton said: “What we are trying to achieve with this project is to make sure we are responding to genuine emergencies.  

“Please take the time to look at the options, read the information, and fill in the consultation.”

Last year, crews responded to an average of 16 false alarms every day due to automatic fire alarms, placing an unnecessary burden on the Service’s resources and their ability to be ready and available for genuine emergencies.

We’re looking to see how we can reduce the number of automatic fire alarms we attend to make our Service more efficient, and make sure our firefighters are able to respond to genuine emergencies.  

We will always attend if someone has reported a sign of fire. We will also always attend domestic properties, such as houses, or where there is a known night-time sleeping risk. The proposed changes only relate to what we will do in response to an automatic alert.

More detailed information about the consultation, and a link to a public survey for feedback, is available on our website.  

The information on the website sets out the reasons why we feel further change is needed and the options we are proposing to tackle the problem.

The findings report from the consultation and the decision on the proposals will be published on our website by early summer. Depending on the outcome of the consultation, we anticipate that changes are likely to be implemented from June 2025.