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FIREFIGHTERS will no longer respond to emergency alarms at business premises – unless they can confirm there is a fire!

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue has introduced the policy to cut down on the amount of time wasted by crews responding to false alarms.

And fire chiefs believe the new rule will save its appliances more than 2,000 unnecessary outings a year.

In 2009/10 the fire service was called out to 3,597 false alarms. This figure dropped to 2,579 in 2010/11.

But from now on fire crews will only respond to alarms on commercial premises when a blaze has actually been confirmed.

The move will not affect domestic premises or sheltered housing, where firefighters will continue to respond every time the alarm system is triggered.

Ian Sloss, head of central risk reduction, said the policy change would reduce the number of calls attended leading to the service spending less on fuel and attendance payments for retained firefighters.

It will also reduce the wear and tear on fire engines.

He added: "The risks associated with non-attendance need to be weighed against the risks to firefighters and other road users of appliances attending on blue lights and the disruption of training and risk reduction activities."

The new policy says: "False alarms from automatic fire detection and alarm systems cause a significant drain on fire and rescue service resources."

If a caller from a premises where an alarm is sounding is unsure why the alarm has gone off, they will be asked to investigate further and call 999 if they discover a fire.

If a member of staff cannot investigate, for example because they are alone in a large building, one pump will be sent to check whether there is a fire or not.

But where the caller confirms the alarm has been set off for some other reason like burnt toast, dust or aerosol spray, they will be told the fire service will not be attending.

If a building is unoccupied, firefighters will still attend to see if a fire is in progress.

And if a call is received from either an alarm receiving centre or an auto-dialler system, one pump will be sent out to check for signs of a blaze.

The policy says: "The control supervisor will at all times retain the ability to mobilise resources at their own discretion based on the information available to them at the time."

Businesses will also be asked to look at ways of preventing false alarms like closing doors, opening windows and operating extractor fans while cooking.

Where companies have had false alarms, they will be offered advice from a technical fire safety officer about its fire procedure and alarm system.