FIREFIGHTERS will no longer rush to fire alarms in shops, offices and factories, due to a spiralling number of false calls.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have attended 17,902 false fire alarm calls since 2019, that's more than 10 a day, leading to it having to take drastic action. 

From the start of this month, firefighters will not be sent to automatic fire alarms at "lower risk premises" between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 

Crews will instead only go if a member of the public calls the service to confirm that a fire is taking place. 

The service hopes this action will reduce false alarms, but businesses have pointed out that this will increase response times and could result in more damage.

Andrew Connellan, owner of Connect 2 Vapes in Worcester,  said: "It is not going to affect us because we have people living above us and they are not going to just leave it. 

"I understand why they are doing it because false alarms pull resources away from real fires but I can't welcome it. 

"I'm shocked really and in despair."

Between 2023 and 2024, the service attended 3,940 false alarms, a record amount.

A spokesperson for the service said: "HWFRS does not mobilise its fire engines to false alarms, we respond 24/7 to 999 calls as the public would expect. 

"We recognise the challenge around the number of calls we receive where the incident turns out to be a false alarm. 

"We make sure that when we do attend we are able to educate and inform members of the public or businesses about fire safety and identify fire safety deficiencies.

"HWFRS has now implemented a new policy toward Automatic Fire Alarms as of September 30 2024 to reduce false alarms.  

"This now means that a fire engine will not be routinely sent to lower risk premises such as shops, offices and factories with alarms activating between the hours of 8am and 6pm, unless physical signs of fire are confirmed from the premises."

Leena Batchelor the owner of Script Haven said it was understandable because it was a sign of the times.

She continued: "It's totally understandable and I think there is a cause for concern, it's a worrying sign of the times.

"I think there's always the danger that there might not really be a fire and crews that are already being stretched to the limit are being diverted to false alarms.

"It's worrying that they are so stretched that they have to make these decisions, they deserve better funding which also think needs to be highlighted."

HWFRS attended the Worcester Business Expo this week to speak with local businesses about business fire safety and said it would be posting details on its website.