Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is changing the way it responds to Automatic Fire Alarms in certain types of buildings as of 01 August 2025.
Following a public consultation, HIWFRS will no longer automatically send crews when there is an automatic fire alarm notification in buildings with no sleeping risk, during the hours of 08:00 and 18:00hrs, unless there are confirmed signs of fire.
Automatic fire alarm notifications
This policy applies to commercial, non-residential buildings such as shops, offices, leisure centers, libraries, and warehouses. The Service will continue to attend automatic fire alarm notifications at buildings where there is a sleeping risk, such as hotels, hospitals, care homes, houses, and flats.
There are also exceptions for heritage buildings, educational institutions during holidays, and specific alarm specifications. In all cases, an emergency response will continue to be sent to 999 calls and confirmed fires.
Change in response to AFAs
In 2023, this resulted in almost 6,500 false alarm attendances by HIWFRS firefighters
Service data shows that over 97% of the automatic fire alarm calls received turned out to be false alarms. In 2023, this resulted in almost 6,500 false alarm attendances by HIWFRS firefighters.
The change in response to AFAs aims to reduce unnecessary disruptions to businesses and it gives the service more time and resources to focus on other priorities, such as increasing fire prevention in the community and freeing up firefighters to respond to real emergencies.
Neighbouring fire services
Neighbouring fire services already follow this policy, freeing up their crews to ensure they are available to respond to real emergencies, rather than false alarms, which are often caused by aerosol sprays, cooking fumes, or poorly maintained fire alarm systems.
Ahead of the changes, HIWFRS is running an awareness campaign to help owners of premises affected to understand the change and ensure that they are meeting their responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Adequate fire safety measures
HIWFRS is running an awareness campaign to help owners of premises affected to understand the change
Phil Barrett, HIWFRS Area Manager for Service Delivery, said: "This change will help strengthen our response to more urgent incidents and enable the service to better utilize resources across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight."
He adds, "We will be sharing information on our website and social media channels, as well as engaging with as many affected premises as possible, to ensure they are aware of the change and continue to have adequate fire safety measures in place."
Dedicated AFA area
Further information on preparing for the changes can be found in the dedicated AFA area of the HIWFRS website.
HIWFRS is also running a series of free webinars to help Responsible Persons and business owners to prepare for the changes on 30 May and 27 June.
