Hochiki…

…one of the world’s leading fire detection and emergency lighting manufacturers, recently commissioned research into the impact of false fire alarms on UK businesses.

The study, conducted by Red Fox, asked over 300 SME’s how much they estimate a false fire alarm evacuation cost their business, as well as the resulting impact. Businesses surveyed included those from the hospitality, leisure & travel, retail, manufacturing and education sectors, amongst others.

The findings were sobering.

90% of false fire alarms resulted in a complete evacuation, and 25% caused “significant disruption” to the business. On average, almost 30% of these incidents cost in excess of £1,000. When scaled up to cover the entire UK, this implies hundreds of millions of pounds worth of disruptions to businesses every year.

In addition to the monetary cost of these false alarms, the impacts have also been felt in the form of lost productivity, disruption to children’s education, as well as leaving businesses vulnerable when their emergency systems have been affected as a result.

One of the most worrying findings is the rise of ‘alarm complacency’ – when repeated false alarms mean staff no longer take alarms seriously. This can obviously have dire consequences should a real incident trigger a fire alarm.

There are many factors that cause false fire alarms. Smoke and/or dust from building renovations are a common cause, as is a lack of alarm maintenance; with older systems that do not contain multi-sensors also contributing.

If your business is suffering from false alarms, or you would like to speak with one of our experts to find out how you can prevent them by regularly servicing and maintaining your alarm system, then contact CIA Fire & Security today:

📞 01285 651 025
📧 info@ciafireandsecurity.co.uk
💻 www.ciafireandsecurity.co.uk