London
False Alarm
Index.

London Fire Brigade attended 47,038 automatic fire alarm (AFA) false alarms in 2025, an average of 128.9 a day. That was 34.1% of the 137,981 incidents it attended and 76.2% of its 61,751 false alarms. So far in 2026 (1 January to 31 July 2026) it has attended 28,591, against 26,001 in the same dates of 2025.

Yes, but not everywhere at every hour. Since 29 October 2024, between 07:00 and 20:30, the Brigade does not attend an automatic fire alarm at most non-residential buildings unless a person also calls 999 to report a fire. It still attends automatic fire alarms at any building between 20:30 and 07:00, and at homes and other exempt premises at all times. The full policy is on London Fire Brigade’s AFA policy page.

The Brigade’s policy page lists these as exempt, which means crews attend an automatic fire alarm there without confirmation of a fire: private dwellings and houses; flats, including high-rise; houses in Multiple Occupation; mobile and park homes; houseboats; hospitals; residential care homes, nursing homes and hospices; children's homes; specialised housing premises (for example sheltered housing, extra care sheltered housing, supported living); student accommodation and halls of residence; residential boarding schools; hotels, motels, B&Bs and other guest accommodation; hostels (for example homeless, rehabilitation) and youth hostels; prisons, young offenders' institutions and other secure establishments; Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 2S listed heritage buildings; schools; nurseries; buildings of substantial public significance identified as exempt by London Fire Brigade. The Brigade asks exempt premises to make sure whoever calls 999 knows the building is exempt and says so, and not to assume an exemption. Check the current list before you rely on it.

It has cut the number the Brigade attends. After LFB changed its response on 29 October 2024, AFA false alarms attended at non-residential properties between 07:00 and 20:30 fell from 13,713 in the year before (29 October 2023 to 28 October 2024) to 6,396 in the year after (29 October 2024 to 28 October 2025), a change of -53.4%. Outside those hours non-residential attendances went from 5,304 to 4,874 (-8.1%). Residential attendances went from 33,729 to 35,232 (+4.5%), and all AFA false alarms from 52,793 to 46,536 (-11.9%). The records count attendances, so they cannot show how many alarms sounded and were not attended.

Westminster had the most AFA false alarms of London's 33 local authority areas in 2025: 4,248, or 11.6 a day and 9.0% of the London total. Camden (2,655) and Kensington and Chelsea (2,369) were next. Kingston upon Thames had the fewest, 560. The counts are not adjusted for population or for the number of buildings, so a borough with more buildings will tend to have more. The league table ranks all 33 areas.

Follow your emergency plan. For a building that is not exempt, the Brigade’s guidance is to have a safe way for trained staff to investigate the alarm, and to call 999 as soon as there is any sign of fire, such as smoke, flames, heat or the smell of burning. Do not wait for a crew to arrive first: between 07:00 and 20:30 one will not be sent on the alarm signal alone. LFB Guidance Note 54 covers safe investigation and the policy FAQs cover what the control room will ask.

The notional cost recorded against AFA false alarms in 2025 was £22,472,940, and the pump time recorded was 2,941,997 minutes (49,033.3 hours). 43,118 of the 47,038 incidents carry the 60-minute minimum that LFB applies to any incident of under an hour, so the recorded time is not time on scene. LFB's metadata defines notional cost as time spent multiplied by the notional annual cost of a pump. It is a notional figure and not a bill to any building owner. The rate behind it rises each April, so totals in different years are not like for like. More detail is in the methodology.