Glossary

False alarm: A false alarm is when we receive an alert that there is an emergency, but there is no emergency.

Call challenging: When a call is challenged it means that fire control will ask questions to confirm whether there is an actual fire before sending resources. If control are unable to get confirmation either way then we will send a response depending on the time and type of premises. For instance, if it's a commercial premises overnight we would send a response, or if it's during weekday daytime hours we would not as we'd expect someone to be there to confirm. We would always attend a domestic premises. We would only not respond if control is fully satisfied that there is no genuine emergency.

Commercial and industrial: Commercial industrial premises is a category we use to identify low or medium rise buildings which are used for, for example, offices, commercial garages, police station.

Retail and public assembly: Retail and public assembly includes theatres, cinemas, shopping centres, schools (non-boarding), community centres, libraries, museums, public houses, churches and other places of worship.

Residential: Residential premises include prisons, residential care homes, hotels, boarding houses, residential schools, hospitals, portable accommodation with sleeping risk, heritage buildings, residential buildings under 18 metres tall, where under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 an employee refers to this property as their place of work e.g. warden, member of staff.

Night-time sleeping risk: If someone sleeps at the premises, this is classed as a sleeping risk. This could include hospitals, hotels, prisons and care homes, as well as homes.

Night-time sleeping risk relates to premises where people sleep overnight, between 6pm and 8am.

Daytime sleeping risk relates to premises where people sleep during the day, between 8am and 6pm.