West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service responded to less than one unwanted fire signal per day during the previous quarter.

Between 1 October 2024 and 31 December 2024, firefighters attended 92 unwanted fire signals, which is the lowest quarterly figure since the service’s records began. This data was presented to West Sussex County Council’s Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee who reviewed the fire and rescue service’s quarter three performance at their meeting on the 6th March.

Success of ‘call challenge’ policy
More than two years ago the service implemented a call challenge policy, which has resulted in the huge reduction of unwanted fire signals. An unwanted fire signal is when an automatic fire alarm is activated and a fire and rescue service resource is mobilised to the scene, but there is no fire. To compare, the service responded to 436 unwanted fire signals for the same quarter in 2021 – before this policy was implemented.

A performance report also showed sustained good performance in many areas. One particular success was the improvements made around fire engine response times; first and second appliance times had improved from the previous quarter, with second appliances having the strongest response times to date.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations
The committee also discussed a report from the Chief Fire Officer, summarising the recommendations for fire and rescue services following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has already considered the recommendations from the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, and the service is now undertaking the same assurance work surrounding the Phase 2 recommendations which were published in September 2024.

The relevant recommendations from these two national reports will be implemented as soon as possible, and the service has set up a Board to track and monitor the progress of this project.

Councillor Duncan Crow, Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, said: “The service’s latest performance report makes for positive reading, and I am delighted to see that the number of false alarms has significantly decreased, allowing fire crews to use their time more efficiently by carrying out prevention work in their communities. As a result, the service is regularly meeting its prevention and protection targets, particularly around safe and well visits.”
Dave Bray, Area Manager for Protection, added: “We take the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations very seriously, and our teams are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that each recommendation is implemented in a robust and timely manner. It is imperative that we learn from the tragic events of 14 June 2017, and implementing these recommendations is a key priority for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.”
You can watch the meeting back here: https://westsussex.public-i.tv/core/portal/home