FAQs
I am a Responsible Person for a commercial building: what do I need to know?
Our new policy applies to certain non-residential buildings, business & workplaces. If a building you are responsible for, and not on the exemption list, you will need to do the following:
SWFRS will only send a response to confirmed fires in commercial buildings during if a fire is confirmed or the premises are exempt from this policy.
I am a Responsible Person for an exempt building: what do I need to know?
If your premises is exempt from this policy, then ensure the person responsible for calling SWFRS via 999 in the event of a fire, is aware of the exemption and can relay that information to SWFRS in that call.
Please note that all AFA calls to fire in commercial buildings, will be subject to consideration before any emergency response is made, so please ensure the advice above is clearly understood by your call operators and do not assume any exemptions.
When will this change in policy on AFAs be rolled out?
SWFRS’s change in policy on AFAs will be rolled out from Monday 06th January at 09:00 across South Wales.
SWFRS have based our strategy on analysis of data and risk. 99% of the AFAs that SWFRS attends are false alarms, not fires. SWFRS will continue to attend all fires at any time of the day when someone calls 999.
What will SWFRS do with the time saved by not responding to some AFAs?
The time saved from not attending some AFA calls will give SWFRS more time to utilise its resources in a more efficient, effective and productive way. This will help to reduce risks to South Wales communities through additional fire prevention and protection work and operational training.
Are listed buildings included in SWFRS’s exemption policy?
Yes, listed heritage buildings are one of the exemption categories for SWFRS’s AFA policy. Listed heritage buildings will continue to receive a response to an AFA.
What do I need to do if I’m a business owner? What do I need to do to prepare?
For alarm receiving companies and Responsible People
If a building’s AFA activates and an individual calls SWFRS to report the alarm, how will SWFRS respond?
An AFA activation reported to SWFRS will be subject to SWFRS’s AFA call filtering process by the Control room. The individual calling will be asked to confirm if there is any sign of fire and if someone has investigated the reason for the alarm. Our Control room will confirm what the building is used for, if it is a commercial or residential building, and these responses will determine the most appropriate response, and we will inform the caller if we are attending or not.
How does this change my fire safety arrangements?
You need to make arrangements to be able to differentiate between AFAs that are false alarms and those that are confirmed fires. SWFRS will only send a response to confirmed fires in commercial buildings if a fire is confirmed or the premises are exempt from this policy.
If your premises is exempt from this policy, then ensure the person responsible for calling SWFRS via 999 in the event of a fire, is aware of the exemption and can relay that information in that call.
Please note that all AFA calls to fire in commercial buildings, will be subject to consideration before any emergency response is made, so please ensure the advice above is clearly understood by your call operators and do not assume any exemptions.
How should an alarm receiving centre respond to an AFA in an unoccupied building?
If a building is unoccupied, the Responsible Person should have arrangements in place with their Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) for filtering fire alarm signals before forwarding a call to SWFRS.
In the event of two smoke detectors or a heat detector or a manual call point or a sprinkler flow switch activating would this be considered a ‘Confirmed Fire’?
The majority of AFA calls received by SWFRS do not include that type of information and 99% of the AFAs are false alarms, not fires. However, SWFRS Control Operators are good at identifying calls and recognising when calls are a result of automatic alarms rather than confirmed fire calls. SWFRS will continue to attend all confirmed fires. Confirmation of actuation of a sprinkler flow switch will also receive a response.
Are we giving training to businesses and RPs?
No, the responsibility of staff training for commercial premises does not fall under the remit of SWFRS. If you own, manage or operate a business, you need to comply with fire safety law. The main law is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or “the Fire Safety Order”. It applies across England and Wales and came into force on 1 October 2006. As part of your responsibilities under the Order, you need to make sure Employees are provided with adequate fire safety training.
What if my fire risk assessment does not cover this change?
All existing fire risk assessments and general fire precautions arrangements for commercial premises should be on the basis of evacuation without the need for intervention by the fire and rescue service.
If we have multi-sensor detectors would this remove the need for the 999 calls in relation to AFAs and would this mean automatic attendance by SWFRS, as it would be treated as a confirmed fire?
You need to make arrangements to be able to differentiate between AFAs that are false alarms and those that are confirmed fires. SWFRS will only send a response to confirmed fires in commercial buildings if a fire is confirmed or the premises are exempt from this policy.
If your premises has multiple sensors actuating, then ensure the person responsible for calling relays that information to SWFRS in the call.
Please note that all AFA calls to fire in commercial buildings will be subject to consideration before any emergency response is made, so please ensure the advice above is clearly understood by your call operators and do not assume any automatic response.
Can alarm receiving centres identify the device which has actuated, or are most only able to report a general fire alarm signal?
These arrangements are many and varied, so there is no single answer.
Responsible persons need to make arrangements to ensure alarm receiving centre’s will be able to differentiate between AFAs that are false alarms and those that are confirmed fires. SWFRS will only send a response to confirmed fires in commercial buildings if a fire is confirmed or the premises are exempt from this policy.
Where can I find the information that I need?
You can find all the information on our Business Fire Safety page.
