AXA Commercial is urging London businesses to reassess their fire risk strategies and enhance staff training following the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) announcement that it will cease responding to daytime activations of automatic fire alarms in most non-residential buildings starting October.
According to the insurer, LFB responded to 52,000 false alarms triggered by automatic fire systems in the 12 months to March 2024. Come October, calls from these systems will be ignored between 7am and 8:30pm as part of an effort to reduce the strain on the brigade’s resources.
LFB will maintain its response to automatic alarms during the night, from 8:30pm to 7am.
“London Fire Brigade’s decision is in line with many other fire and rescue services across the UK, and it’s crucial that London businesses are aware of the change,” stated Dougie Barnett (pictured), director of customer risk management at AXA Commercial.
“If there’s a fire, employees need to know to dial 999 during the working day because there won’t be an automatic response by the fire brigade like in the past.”
Barnett emphasised that the policy shift will necessitate updates to fire risk assessments and additional training for staff to ensure proper responses in the event of a fire.
Key actions for businesses connected to alarm-receiving centres include educating employees on the importance of dialling 999 to report a fire and implementing a system to quickly identify if a fire alarm is genuine or false, to ensure timely evacuation and emergency calls when necessary.
“This will be a significant change for London businesses that will impact their fire risk assessments,” added Barnett. “It’s important they prepare now and put plans in place so employees have the required training and knowledge before it comes into force.”
Meanwhile, those connected to the BT RedCare service must find an alternative alarm-receiving supplier. As previously announced, all Redcare operations will be closed in August 2025.
Earlier this year, AXA noted: “Given the criticality of alarm systems to customers’ insurance covers, customers may seek advice from their insurance brokers.
“Many customers will be unaware of the technological specifications delivered through Redcare, and it’s important that the replacement service they choose provides a like-for-like performance level.”
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