More than 5,000 false fire alarms have been attended by the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service since 2019.

The investigation, led by Personal Injury Claims UK, revealed that these false alarms have caused a significant strain on resources and finances.

The annual number of false alarms attended by the service has consistently ranged between 950 and 1,100 over the past five years, equating to around three incidents daily.

In the year 2019/20, the service attended 1,018 false fire alarms, marking the third-highest number of visits over the five-year period.

The following year, this figure increased by 62 to a total of 1,080, largely due to the restrictions and lockdowns during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As restrictions were lifted, the number of false fire alarm callouts decreased, with 959 visits recorded in 2022/23.

However, the past year has seen a significant rise in false alarm calls, with the total reaching 1,121 in 2023/24.

The investigation identified several common causes of false fire alarms, including faulty or poorly designed equipment, poorly trained users, lack of maintenance, cooking fumes or burnt food, steam from showers, dust from building or repair work, and aerosols used near sensors.

The graphs show the extent of the issue   (Image: Supplied)

Personal Injury Claims UK also provided figures on how many of these false alarms were caused by faulty equipment.

The number of faulty fire alarms has fluctuated since 2019/20, but faulty equipment has consistently been one of the main reasons for callouts in Mid and West Wales.

 

 

In response to the increasing number of false alarms, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service issued an update on their approach to false alarms.

A statement on the service’s website reads: "We will not respond to any calls originating from Automatic Fire Alarm systems (day and night) with the exception of residential premises as well as nursing and care homes.

"There is a cost to Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service from deploying firefighting resources unnecessarily, and each false alarm can lead people to become complacent when they hear the fire alarm."

Across the UK, false fire alarms account for the largest proportion of incidents attended, making up 38 per cent of all callouts.

According to a study by BRE Group, these false alarms prove costly and disruptive, amounting to around £1 billion a year for the UK.

If the trend continues, false alarms could pose an ongoing risk to people's safety, as well as affect the efficiency of emergency services.