One of the most frequent complaints about fire alarms comes from false alarms. False alarms, or nuisance alarms, refer to the accidental activation of a fire detection device when there isn’t a genuine fire threat on premises. False alarms happen in both residential and commercial settings, and they are frustrating for everyone. It wastes countless hours for businesses and homeowners, while also distracting fire authorities from real emergencies. Even more, false alarms are a real threat to fire safety. Not only do frequent false positives change the way people think about and respond to alarms, but they may also lead to the deactivation of the alarm entirely. In the cases that alarms are ignored or disabled, the most frequent reason for this are false alarms. Keep reading to learn more about the dangers of false alarms and why they are so threatening to life safety.
Fire departments in the U.S. respond to millions of false alarms every year. False alarms are commonly caused by cooking fumes, steam, insects and other contaminants found in residential homes. In addition, a common compliant is the fire alarm activating due to low battery power or a device malfunction. In these cases, make sure to be aware of when you should replace your device. Residential fire alarms should be replaced at the 10 year mark, and the battery should be replaced when the alarm chirps or at least once a year. To further reduce the frequency of nuisance alarms in your home, make sure you have adequate ventilation while cooking and to regularly dust your smoke detector. Often, nuisance alarms cause owners to deactivate their smoke detectors entirely; however, this should be avoided as homes without fire alarms are far more likely to have injury or death during real fire emergencies.
As you experience more frequent nuisance alarms, your brain becomes wired to associate the alarm signal with a false signal. At the same time, we become desensitized to the notification signals, which become a bothersome nuisance rather than an important message to evacuate. As nuisance alarms continue, it becomes increasingly normalized and perhaps even encouraged to disregard the alarm entirely. This phenomenon is known as false alarm fatigue. As a result, even if a faulty alarm is broken, operators may still be likely to ignore alarms. The Society of Fire Protection Engineers has identified four common reasons why people fail to respond to fire alarms:
When alarms are ignored, the number of incidences drastically increase. The extra minutes and seconds that fire alarms provide are crucial for saving lives and giving occupants enough time to escape the building. Industrial accidents stemming from human error often involve an operator’s failure to react to an alarm, a problem frequently tied directly or indirectly to repeated false alarms. This issue often appears as a primary or contributing factor in accident reports and influences how operators handle future alarms.
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Repairing broken systems, adjusting settings, and reducing the frequency of false alarms are the first step to increasing confidence in the fire alarm system. Here are 10 ways you can reduce nuisance alarms in a variety of occupancies:
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Nuisance alarms are more than just a minor inconvenience, they post a genuine threat to life safety. When we become desensitized to frequent false alarms, it leads to a dangerous phenomenon called false alarm fatigue. This causes people to ignore or even disable their false alarms. However, ignoring a fire alarm can be fatal in a real emergency. For this reason, it is important to do everything in our power to reduce the frequency of nuisance alarms and train operators to heed alarm signals when they do occur. Taking steps to maintain your alarm system, reporting frequent issues to your fire engineers, and seeking expert advice can help to reduce false alarm frequency. By reducing false alarms, you can restore trust in your fire safety system and ensure that everyone will take the necessary action to evacuate when a genuine emergency occurs. If you are looking for fire risk assessments, maintenance services, or general consultation, look through our services catalog or email us at [email protected].
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