FALSE ALARM ACTIVITY IN THE U.S. 2012

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FALSE ALARM ACTIVITY IN THE U.S. 2012 Michael J. Karter, Jr. December 2013 National Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division

Abstract In 2012, U.S. fire departments responded to 2,238,000 false alarms. This was a decrease of 6.1% from the year before. This means that one out of twelve calls responded to by fire departments were false alarms. Keywords: false alarms Acknowledgements The National Fire Protection Association thanks all the fire departments and state fire authorities who participate in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the annual NFPA fire experience survey. These firefighters are the original sources of the detailed data that make this analysis possible. Their contributions allow us to estimate the size of the fire problem. We are also grateful to the U.S. Fire Administration for its work in developing, coordinating, and maintaining NFIRS. For more information about the National Fire Protection Association, visit www.nfpa.org or call 617-770-3000. To learn more about the One-Stop Data Shop go to www.nfpa.org/osds or call 617-984-7443. Copies of this analysis are available from: National Fire Protection Association One-Stop Data Shop 1 Batterymarch Park Quincy, MA 02169-7471 www.nfpa.org e-mail: osds@nfpa.org phone: 617-984-7443 NFPA No. USS18 Copyright 2013, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA

In 2012, U.S. fire departments responded to 2,238,000 false alarms. This was an decrease of 6.1%. This means that one out of twelve calls responded to by fire departments were false alarms. False alarms were a big story in the 1970s, when the concern tended to be malicious activation of call boxes, typically by juveniles in large urban areas. A number of initiatives were taken in many cities, ranging from public education messages to stakeouts to greater use of voice-communication boxes to 911 phone message systems to box removal, and the problem seemed to retreat. When false alarms began climbing again in 1982 (see Figure 1), fire protection experts expressed the view that the problem had changed, that malicious activation of boxes by juveniles were less of a problem than nuisance activation s of automatic detection systems. Table 1 shows this view is surely correct when there were almost 3 system malfunctions for every malicious false call. Overall, the 2012 false alarm figure decreased 6.1% from the year before. Let s examine changes within categories of false alarms. System malfunctions decreased 4.7% from a year ago, accounting for 713,000 or 31.9% of all false alarms. Malicious false calls decreased 8.2% from a year ago, accounting for 167,500 or 8.2% of all false calls. Unintentional false calls (e.g., tripping an interior device accidentally and includes carbon monoxide detectors) accounted for 1,044,500 or 46.6% of all false alarms. Other false calls including bomb scares accounted for 313,500 or 14.0% of all false calls. Over the 1988-2012 period, the number of system malfunctions increased every year from 1988 to 1999 and increased an overall 63.7% from 550,500 in 1988 to 901,500 in 1999, changed little in 2000, and then decreased 20.9% to 713,000 by the end of 2012 (Table 2). Malicious false calls after hovering around the 450,000 level from 1990 to 1992 decreased 40% from 1993 to 274,000 in 2001, increased 13% in 2002, then decreased quite steadily for an overall decrease of 46.1% to 167,500 in 2012. Unintentional false calls increased every year except for 1990, 1997, 2002, 2009, and 2012 for an overall increase of 276% from 278,000 in 1988 to 1,044,500 in 2012. A portion of the increase was due to the increase in the use of carbon monoxide detectors. False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 1 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Another way to look at this is to examine the portion of total false alarms by type of alarm over the 1988 to 2012 period (Figure 2). Malicious false calls accounted for 33% of false alarms in 1988, decreased most years, and accounted for 7% of false alarms in 2012. System malfunctions accounted for 39% of false alarms in 1988, increased in the 1990s but decreased in the 2000s, and accounted for 32% of false alarms in 2012. On the other hand, unintentional accounted for 20% of false alarms in 1988, increased most years, and accounted for 47% of false alarms in 2011. Other false alarms accounted for 8% of false alarms in 1988, increased most years, and accounted for 14% of false alarms in 2012. False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 2 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Table 1 Estimates of False Alarms by Type, 2012 Estimate Percent Change From 2011 Percent of All False Alarms Malicious Mischievous False Call 167,500-8.2 7.5 System Malfunction 713,000-4.7 31.9 Unintentional Call 1,044,500-1.6 46.6 Other False Alarms (Bomb Scares, etc.) 313,500-19.8 14.0 Total 2,238,000-6.1 Source: NFPA's Survey of Fire Departments for 2012 U.S. Fire Experience. False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 3 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Table 2 Estimates of False Alarms by Type, 1988-2012 Malicious System Unintentional Year Total Mischievous Malfunctions Calls Other 1988 1,404,500 458,000 550,500 278,000 118,000 1989 1,467,000 415,000 584,000 339,000 129,000 1990 1,476,000 441,500 593,000 317,500 124,000 1991 1,578,500 457,500 620,500 360,000 140,500 1992 1,598,000 455,000 623,000 366,000 153,500 1993 1,646,500 408,500 670,000 397,000 171,000 1994 1,666,000 365,000 718,000 415,000 168,000 1995 1,672,500 319,500 737,500 418,000 197,500 1996 1,816,500 314,500 805,000 496,000 201,000 1997 1,814,500 286,500 816,500 490,000 221,500 1998 1,956,000 309,000 851,000 569,000 227,000 1999 2,039,000 304,000 901,500 605,000 228,500 2000 2,126,500 299,500 884,000 713,500 229,500 2001 2,157,500 274,000 822,000 761,500 300,000 2002 2,116,000 311,000 793,000 713,000 299,000 2003 2,189,500 301,000 795,500 773,000 320,000 2004 2,106,000 249,000 739,500 801,500 316,000 2005 2,134,000 240,500 745,500 838,000 310,000 2006 2,119,500 193,500 721,000 850,000 355,000 2007 2,208,500 222,500 740,500 951,000 294,500 2008 2,241,500 190,000 765,000 982,500 304,000 2009 2,177,000 183,000 698,000 979,500 316,500 2010 2,187,000 163,000 708,500 992,000 323,500 2011 2,383,000 182,500 748,000 1,061,500 391,000 2012 2,238,000 167,500 713,000 1,044,500 313,500 Source: NFPA Annual Fire Experience Survey (1988-2012) False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 4 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Figure 1. False Alarms by Type, 1988-2012 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,238,000 Number of alarms 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 1,044,500 713,000 Total Malicious Malfunctions Unintentional Other 500,000 313,500 0 167,500 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Year Source: NFPA Annual Fire Experience Survey (1988-2012) False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 5 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Figure 2. False Alarms by Type, 1988-2012 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 Other Unintentional Malfunctions Malicious 500,000 0 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Year False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 6 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Appendix A Fire Department Calls Medical False Mutual Year Total Fires Aid Alarms Aid Other 1980 10,819,000 2,988,000 5,045,000 896,500 274,000 1,615,500 1981 10,594,500 2,893,500 5,019,000 788,000 349,500 1,544,500 1982 10,548,000 2,538,000 5,258,000 853,500 346,500 1,552,000 1983 10,933,000 2,326,500 5,660,000 979,500 353,000 1,614,000 1984 11,070,000 2,343,000 5,735,000 972,000 413,500 1,606,000 1985 11,888,000 2,371,000 6,467,000 936,500 389,500 1,724,000 Hazardous Other Hazardous Material Condition Other 1986 11,890,000 2,271,500 6,437,500 992,500 441,000 171,500 318,000 1,258,000 1987 12,237,500 2,330,000 6,405,000 1,238,500 428,000 193,000 315,000 1,328,000 1988 13,308,000 2,436,500 7,169,500 1,404,500 490,500 204,000 333,000 1,270,000 1989 13,409,500 2,115,000 7,337,000 1,467,000 500,000 207,000 381,500 1,402,000 1990 13,707,500 2,019,000 7,650,000 1,476,000 486,500 210,000 423,000 1,443,000 1991 14,556,500 2,041,500 8,176,000 1,578,500 494,000 221,000 428,500 1,617,000 1992 14,684,500 1,964,500 8,263,000 1,598,000 514,000 220,500 400,000 1,724,500 1993 15,318,500 1,952,500 8,743,500 1,646,500 542,000 245,000 432,500 1,756,500 1994 16,127,000 2,054,500 9,189,000 1,666,000 586,500 250,000 432,500 1,948,500 False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 7 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

Fire Department Calls (Continued) Year Total Fires Medical Aid False Alarms Mutual Aid Hazardous Material Other Hazardous Condition Other 1995 16,391,500 1,965,500 9,381,000 1,672,500 615,500 254,500 469,500 2,033,000 1996 17,503,000 1,975,000 9,841,500 1,816,500 688,000 285,000 536,500 2,360,500 1997 17,957,500 1,795,000 10,483,000 1,814,500 705,500 271,500 498,500 2,389,500 1998 18,753,000 1,755,500 10,936,000 1,956,000 707,500 301,000 559,000 2,538,000 1999 19,667,000 1,823,000 11,484,000 2,039,000 824,000 297,500 560,000 2,639,500 2000 20,520,000 1,708,000 12,251,000 2,126,500 864,000 319,000 543,500 2,708,000 2001 20,965,500 1,734,500 12,331,000 2,157,500 838,500 381,500 605,000 2,917,500 2002 21,303,500 1,687,500 12,903,000 2,116,000 888,500 361,000 603,500 2,744,000 2003 22,406,000 1,584,500 13,631,500 2,189,500 987,000 349,500 660,500 3,003,500 2004 22,616,500 1,550,500 14,100,000 2,106,000 984,000 354,000 671,000 2,851,000 2005 23,251,500 1,602,000 14,375,000 2,134,000 1,091,000 375,000 667,000 3,009,000 2006 24,470,000 1,642,500 15,062,500 2,119,500 1,159,500 388,500 659,000 3,438,500 2007 25,334,500 1,557,500 15,784,000 2,208,500 1,109,500 395,500 686,500 3,593,000 2008 25,252,500 1,451,500 15,767,500 2,241,500 1,214,500 394,500 697,500 3,485,500 2009 26,534,500 1,348,500 17,104,000 2,177,000 1,296,000 397,000 625,500 3,586,500 2010 28,205,000 1,331,500 18,522,000 2,187,000 1,189,500 402,000 660,000 3,913,000 2011 30,098,000 1,389,500 19,803,000 2,383,000 1,252,000 379,000 720,000 4,171,500 2012 31,854,000 1,375,000 21,705,500 2,238,000 1,326,500 360,000 694,000 4,155,000 False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 12/13 8 NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, Quincy, MA

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