Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has been called out to more than 34,000 false fire alarms over the past five years, a new investigation has revealed.

Figures obtained by Personal Injury Claims UK show the service has responded to 34,292 false fire alarms since April 2019.

The data also reveals there have been between 6,500 and 7,500 false fire alarms each year, which is about 18 incidents a day.

Between 2019 and 2020, the service attended 6,898 false fire alarms, which was the third-highest number of visits over the past five years.

A year later, this number decreased to 6,431 due to restrictions during the pandemic.

As the restrictions were lifted, the number of false fire alarm callouts rose, reaching 6,990 in 2022/23.

Over the past year, the service has experienced another increase in false alarm calls, with the total reaching 7,452 in 2023/24.

False fire alarm callouts received by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue since 2019False fire alarm callouts received by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue since 2019 (Image: Personal Injury Claims UK) Some common causes of false fire alarms include faulty or poorly designed equipment, poorly trained users, lack of maintenance, fumes from cooking or burnt food, steam from showers, dust from building or repair work, and aerosols being used near sensors.

Personal Injury Claims UK also obtained figures on how many of these false alarms were caused by faulty equipment.

While the number of faulty fire alarms has fluctuated since 2019/20, faulty equipment has been one of the main reasons for callouts in Dorset and Wiltshire.

Faulty fire alarm callouts received by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue since 2019Faulty fire alarm callouts received by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue since 2019 (Image: Personal Injury Claims UK) With the number of these callouts increasing year on year, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue issued an update earlier this year to their policy when attending false alarms.

A statement on the service’s website said: "As of 1 April 2024, the service will no longer attend automatic fire alarms at low-risk commercial premises.

"This change is being introduced to reduce the number of unwanted fire signals attended by fire crews.

"Such mobilisations can cause unnecessary risks to the public and responding firefighters, cause disruption to the business, and may delay a response to a genuine emergency."

Across the country, false fire alarms continue to be the largest proportion of incidents attended, at 38 per cent.

They are proving to be costly and disruptive, amounting to around £1 billion a year for the UK, according to a study by BRE Group.

If the trend continues, false alarms could pose an ongoing risk to individuals' safety as well as affect the efficiency of emergency services.

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