COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. Automatic Fire Alarm Actuation Protocol

Transcription

1 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Automatic Fire Alarm Actuation Protocol Document Version Number: Version 1 Version Date: February 2015 Prepared by: Community Development

2 CONTENTS Page No 1 INTRODUCTION 3 2 NIFRS ATTENDANCE LEVELS 3 3 PROCEDURES TO BE ADOPTED BETWEEN 0900 HOURS AND HOURS (DAY TIME) FOR AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM ACTUATIONS BY NIFRS RCC 4 PROCEDURES TO BE ADOPTED FOR AUTOMATIC FIRE 5 ALARM ACTUATIONS BETWEEN 1800 HOURS AND 0900 HOURS (NIGHT TIME) BY NIFRS RCC 5 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS 6 6 UNWANTED FIRE SIGNALS 6 7 PREMISES RESPONSIBILITIES 6 Page 2 of 6

3 1 INTRODUCTION From 1 April 2015 Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) will change its protocols for responding to automatic fire alarm actuations. The primary change will be that NIFRS will not automatically mobilise an emergency response to an automatic fire alarm actuation to certain types of premises unless a back-up call is received confirming a fire or signs of fire have been detected. The protocols will initially apply to the following hours; 0900 hours until 1800 hours every day. NIFRS may extend this to include the full 24 hour period at a later date. This protocol has five underpinning principles: Regional Control Centre (RCC) retains the discretion to vary any NIFRS mobilisation. In line with the premises Fire Risk Assessment, the fire safety arrangements in any building should include having a system in place to check the area where an alarm has actuated, allowing confirmation at an early stage of a fire or signs of fire or the cause of a false alarm. There will be no automatic attendance to an automatic fire alarm actuation between the hours of 0900 and 1800 (daytime). NIFRS shall not mobilise an emergency response to any known false alarm, irrespective of premises type. NIFRS will always mobilise an emergency response to any confirmed fire or signs of fire, irrespective of premises type. 2 NIFRS ATTENDANCE LEVELS NIFRS will have two attendance levels: Level 1 Level 2 Fire Pre-Determined Attendance (Fire PDA) Automatic Fire Alarm Pre-Determined Attendance (AFA PDA) (normally 1 pumping appliance under emergency response conditions) Page 3 of 6

4 3 PROCEDURES TO BE ADOPTED BETWEEN 0900 HOURS AND 1800 HOURS (DAY TIME) FOR AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM ACTUATIONS BY NIFRS RCC There will be no automatic attendance to automatic fire alarm actuations between the hours of 0900 and 1800 (daytime). Upon receipt of a call, RCC must confirm the call source and identify the premises type to determine if it is exempt from this protocol. 3.1 Exempt Premises Exempt premises are: domestic premises/private residential sheltered/fold accommodation residential care homes Calls Received Directly from Occupiers RCC will be responsible for confirming the premises are exempt from this protocol. If a fire or physical signs of fire are confirmed by the caller, RCC will mobilise a Level 1 Fire PDA. If a fire cannot be confirmed, or no signs of fire are reported, RCC shall mobilise a Level 2 AFA PDA, normally 1 pumping appliance under emergency response conditions. If the call is a confirmed false alarm, irrespective of premises type, RCC will not mobilise a NIFRS response Calls Received via a Fire Alarm Monitoring Organisation (FAMO) RCC will be responsible for confirming the premises are exempt from this protocol. RCC will confirm that a call back protocol has been completed prior to the FAMO contacting the RCC. If the FAMO has established contact via call back and can confirm a fire or physical signs of fire have been detected, RCC will mobilise a Level 1 Fire PDA. If call back has been attempted but failed to establish contact with the premises, RCC will mobilise a Level 2 AFA PDA, normally 1 pumping appliance under emergency response conditions. Page 4 of 6

5 If the call is a confirmed false alarm, irrespective of premises type, RCC will not mobilise a NIFRS response. 3.2 Non-Exempt Premises Non-exempt premises are all premises not listed in section 3.1. Between 0900 hours and 1800 hours, all calls to non-exempt premises will be call challenged by RCC, whether received directly from the premises or received via a FAMO Calls Received Directly from Occupiers If a fire or physical signs of fire are confirmed, RCC will mobilise a Level 1 Fire PDA. If a fire or physical signs of fire cannot be confirmed the caller will be advised: NIFRS will not mobilise a response at this time. Please investigate and if a fire is confirmed or signs of fire detected, please call back immediately on the 999 system. If the call is a confirmed false alarm, irrespective of premises type, RCC will not mobilise a NIFRS response Calls Received via a FMAO RCC will confirm that a call back protocol has been completed prior to the FAMO contacting the RCC. If this has not been done RCC will advise the FAMO to do so and advise that no NIFRS response will be made at this time. If the FAMO has established contact via call back and can confirm a fire or physical signs of fire have been detected, RCC will mobilise a Level 1 Fire PDA. If the FAMO are unable to establish contact but can confirm the premises are unoccupied, RCC shall mobilise a Level 2 AFA PDA, normally 1 pumping appliance under emergency response conditions. If the call is a confirmed false alarm, irrespective of premise type, RCC will not mobilise a NIFRS response. 4 PROCEDURES TO BE ADOPTED FOR AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM ACTUATIONS BETWEEN 1800 HOURS AND 0900 HOURS (NIGHT TIME) BY NIFRS RCC During night time hours the following will apply to automatic fire alarm actuations, irrespective of premises type and call source. RCC will be responsible for filtering calls and dispatching the appropriate PDA. If a fire or physical signs of fire are confirmed by the caller, RCC will mobilise a Level 1 Fire PDA. If a fire cannot be confirmed, or no physical signs of fire are reported, RCC shall mobilise a Level 2 AFA PDA, normally 1 Page 5 of 6

6 pumping appliance under emergency response conditions - this may vary dependant on the site specific risk assessment. If the call is a confirmed false alarm, irrespective of premises type, RCC will not mobilise a NIFRS response. 5 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Any premises that has exceptional circumstances, as identified by their fire risk assessment, may apply to be temporarily included in the exempt premises category. If agreed, this will be reviewed within 12 months, during which time NIFRS will expect the responsible person to work towards achieving a permanent satisfactory solution, eg, upgrading alarm systems, employing staff to manage the risk, etc. Each case is considered on its own merit and will not be granted exempt where NIFRS believes that the responsible person can take reasonable action to mitigate the risk. Premises wishing to request this facility should contact Group Commander (Community Development), NIFRS HQ in writing or via . Successful premises will be identified via completion of a SC61(a) by the Group Commander (Community Development), NIFRS HQ and inputted onto the RCC mobilising system by Systems Support. The removal of this facility will be identified using the same process. 6 UNWANTED FIRE SIGNALS Whilst the introduction of the revised protocol for responding to automatic fire alarm actuations will reduce the number of NIFRS mobilisations, NIFRS may continue to receive significant numbers of unwanted fire signals from exempt and non-exempt premises. Personnel should refer to the current NIFRS Policy on False Alarms and Unwanted Fire Signals to address issues in individual premises. 7 PREMISES RESPONSIBILITIES The premises fire risk assessment should be reviewed to take account of these changes to NIFRS attendance to automatic fire alarm actuations during daylight hours for non-exempt premises. Staff training should include an understanding of the fire alarm system and safe investigation of automatic fire alarm actuations. All persons on the premises will need to be aware of the correct procedures to be followed in the event of fire or signs of fire being discovered. If connected to a FAMO, the premises must consider how calls are received from the FAMO following actuation of the automatic fire alarm system. An immediate 999 call should always be made to NIFRS when a fire or the signs of fire are discovered. Page 6 of 6