Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue attended 12,000 false alarms

Figures from an investigation by Personal Injury Claims UK reveal that the service attends around seven false alarms every day.

The number of false alarms each year has ranged from 2,000 to 3,000, with 2,772 recorded in 2023/24 alone.

False fire alarm calls since 2019 (Image: Personal Injury Claims UK)

Across the country, false fire alarms continue to be the largest proportion of incidents attended at 38%, and cost around £1 billion a year.

Common causes of false alarms include: faulty or poorly designed equipment, poorly trained users, lack of maintenance, cooking fumes, steam, dust, and aerosols.

The fire service said: "Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) alert to potential fires. However, many activations are false alarms, termed Unwanted Fire Signals (UwFS).

"These false alarms divert resources from genuine emergencies and pose risks to public safety.

"BFRS will not respond to fire calls generated by AFA systems in non-domestic, medium, and low-risk premises unless a fire is confirmed via a 999 call or there are visible signs of a fire at the location."

Faulty fire alarm calls since 2019 (Image: Personal Injury Claims UK) False alarms could pose an ongoing risk to individuals' safety as well as affect the efficiency of emergency services.

Personal Injury Claims UK offers free advice and support to those impacted by a fire, and encourage those seeking advice to contact them on their 24 hour helpline and online form, on their website.