In 2021, the fire service moved out unnecessarily more than 50,000 times. So far this year, more than 29,000 of the calls have been unnecessary, statistics from the Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) show. CONCERNED: Acting director of DSB, Johan Marius Ly, believes unnecessary calls out can weaken preparedness. Photo: Press photo This makes up more than half of all call-outs, and the share has been at a stable high of between 50 and 60 per cent for several years. – In the extreme, this could lead to a weakening of preparedness as resources are kept elsewhere when alarms go off, says Acting Director of DSB, Johan Marius Ly. Can be a traffic hazard news has spoken to several fire chiefs who express the same concern. WISHES A REDUCTION: Dag Botnen, fire chief at Haugaland fire and rescue. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news – A station covers one area and when they are out, that readiness will be down, says fire chief at Haugaland fire and rescue, Dag Botnen. ERROR: Fire chief Nils-Erik Haagenrud sees that it is often the wrong location of alarms that often triggers them. Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / news Fire chief in Rogaland fire and rescue, Nils-Erik Haagenrud, is also concerned about preparedness, but also the risk involved in calling an emergency service. – It disrupts the traffic picture, and unwanted incidents can occur, he says. Faulty installation is often the cause The vast majority of cases are caused by automatic fire alarms (ABA) for businesses, particularly due to technical problems with the system, figures from DSB show. Haagenrud finds that alarms they respond to are often triggered due to incorrect placement, lack of maintenance, or because craftsmen are on a mission in a building without the smoke detector being switched off. – The danger is that if you cry wolf-wolf enough times, eventually someone will not respond in the same way as one should perhaps when receiving an alarm, fears Haagenrud. Claims many millions in fees It is up to each individual fire service whether they wish to send a fee for unnecessary calls. There is no national register for how much has been collected in total. But just from 2017 to 2021, for example, the Bergen fire service collected more than NOK 37.1 million. The fee has increased gradually from year to year. In 2021, it was NOK 8,864 per fee. In the same period, Rogaland fire and rescue claimed over NOK 16.6 million, while Oslo fire and rescue service claimed a total of NOK 73.5 million. There may be a solution But when the fees and calls are consistently high, money collection may not be the way to go. In 2017, Trøndelag fire and rescue got an idea, and starting in 2018 they have called every single company that has caused an unnecessary emergency call. – The entire preventive department contributes by making contact with everyone, and we have had presentations for building owners, builders and players in the entire fire alarm industry in our region, says Hilde Sivertsen, department engineer in Trøndelag fire and rescue service. In 2021, they experienced a decline. Takes it as practice Scuba diver Hilde Marie Falnes at Kopervik fire station on Karmøy often dives unnecessarily, but sees it as useful practice. – If there is an unnecessary emergency call, we are always trained to get to the station as quickly as possible and get dressed. Then we have trained it into a real situation, she says. READY WHEN IT APPLIES: Smoke diver Hilde Marie Falnes. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news But her boss, Dag Botnen in Haugaland fire and rescue, would like to have the share reduced. He sees that dialogue can be the way to go if they are to reduce the number of unnecessary calls. – I claim that we can avoid most alarms with good routines. We will focus on this going forward and make homeowners more aware, he says.
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Believes fire preparedness is weakened by unnecessary calls – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
