🔥 Important Update for Business Owners! 🔥
Starting March 18th, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) will change how they respond to automatic fire alarms (AFA) in commercial premises.
To improve efficiency and focus resources where they are most needed, WYFRS will only attend AFA actuations if a call confirms it is not a false alarm.
This change applies to most commercial sites, excluding those with sleeping risk, educational premises, COMAH sites, heritage sites, and specific risk premises authorised by WYFRS’ Senior Operations Team.
What Does This Mean for You?
❗ Responsible action: Business/building owners must have procedures in place to safely investigate alarms before calling 999.
❗ Fire alarm maintenance: Ensure alarms are regularly tested and serviced to reduce false alarms.
❗ Communication: Any changes to fire alarm procedures must be recorded in your fire risk assessment (FRA) and communicated to all staff.
Why the change?
✅ Efficiency: Currently, almost 30% of WYFRS mobilisations are in response to AFAs, with less than 2% resulting in an actual fire. This change will free up over 4000 hours for community safety and training.
✅ Improved fire cover: Appliances will be available for other incidents, enhancing overall fire cover.
✅ Reduced accidents: blue light responses are significantly reduced by reducing risk to fire crews and the public.
Let’s work together to ensure the safety of our businesses and communities!
