767
AFA false alarms attended in 2025
552 residential, 215 non-residential
False alarms in
Merton.
London Fire Brigade attended 767 automatic fire alarm false alarms in Merton in 2025, 2.1 a day. That ranks it 28th of London’s 33 areas.
Rank in London, 2025
28of 33
1 is the area with the most,
33 the area with the fewest
- 767 attended in 2025
- 2.1 a day, on average
- 1.6% of the London total
2.1
a day, on average
London: 128.9 a day
-14.7%
change on 2024
132 fewer than the 899 in 2024
-55.4%
daytime non-residential attendance
year after the 2024 policy change against the year before
What is counted. Incidents London Fire Brigade attended in Merton and recorded as a false alarm from an automatic fire alarm. Alarms that sounded and were not attended are not in the data. How the Index is built.
Merton · 2019 to 2025
28th of 33
in London.
London Fire Brigade attended 767 automatic fire alarm (AFA) false alarms in Merton in 2025. That is 1.6% of the London total and places it 28th of 33 areas. They made up 34.2% of everything the Brigade attended in the borough, close to the London figure of 34.1%. The count is not adjusted for population or for the number of buildings.
The 2025 total was 132 lower than in 2024 (-14.7%). The highest year in the series was 2024, with 899, and the lowest was 2020, with 629.
From 1 January to 31 July 2026 the Brigade attended 413 AFA false alarms in Merton, against 436 in the same dates of 2025 (-5.3%, against a rise of 10.0% across London). 2026 is a part year and should not be set against a full one.
AFA false alarms attended in Merton, 2019 to 2025
By calendar year of the 999 call. 2026 covers 1 January to 31 July 2026 only and is drawn paler.
- Residential (dwellings and other residential)
- Non-residential
- Part year
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | AFA false alarms | Residential | Non-residential | Per day | Rank of 33 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 685 | 386 | 299 | 1.9 | 30 | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 629 | 381 | 248 | 1.7 | 29 | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 659 | 361 | 296 | 1.8 | 31 | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 783 | 470 | 312 | 2.1 | 26 | +18.8% |
| 2023 | 826 | 463 | 362 | 2.3 | 27 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 899 | 529 | 370 | 2.5 | 25 | +8.8% |
| 2025 | 767 | 552 | 215 | 2.1 | 28 | -14.7% |
| 2026, 1 January to 31 July 2026 | 413 | 318 | 95 | 1.9 | 31 | -5.3% |
The policy change · 29 October 2024
Daytime attendance
at workplaces: -55.4%.
Since 29 October 2024 London Fire Brigade has not attended automatic fire alarms at most non-residential buildings between 07:00 and 20:30 unless a person also calls 999 to report a fire. Homes, schools, hospitals and the other premises on its exemption list still get a response at any hour.
In the year before London Fire Brigade changed its response on 29 October 2024, it attended 269 AFA false alarms at non-residential buildings in Merton between 07:00 and 20:30. In the year after it attended 120 (-55.4%). That is close to the London figure of -53.4%. Residential attendances, which the policy does not affect, rose from 528 to 544 (+3.0%) over the same two years.
Before and after in Merton
| Group | Year before | Year after | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-residential, 07:00 to 20:30 | 269 | 120 | -55.4% |
| Property types not named as exempt | 213 | 66 | -69.0% |
| Hospitals, schools, nurseries, prisons | 56 | 54 | -3.6% |
| Non-residential, outside those hours | 109 | 117 | +7.3% |
| Residential, all hours | 528 | 544 | +3.0% |
| All AFA false alarms | 906 | 781 | -13.8% |
A fall in attendance, not in alarms. The records count incidents the Brigade attended. They cannot show how many alarms sounded in Merton and were not attended. For a non-exempt building in the policy hours, finding out why the alarm went off, and calling 999 if there is a fire, is now the building’s job. The counts here are small, so the percentages move a long way on a few incidents.
What building managers can do, for commercial buildings in the policy hours and for residential blocks.
Daytime non-residential attendances in Merton, month by month
Non-residential AFA false alarms attended between 07:00 and 20:30, Jan 2023 to Jul 2026.
- Months before the change
- Months after the change
Show the numbers as a table
| Month | Attended | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | 18 | Before |
| Feb 2023 | 23 | Before |
| Mar 2023 | 25 | Before |
| Apr 2023 | 18 | Before |
| May 2023 | 17 | Before |
| Jun 2023 | 25 | Before |
| Jul 2023 | 19 | Before |
| Aug 2023 | 25 | Before |
| Sep 2023 | 21 | Before |
| Oct 2023 | 21 | Before |
| Nov 2023 | 23 | Before |
| Dec 2023 | 27 | Before |
| Jan 2024 | 17 | Before |
| Feb 2024 | 21 | Before |
| Mar 2024 | 27 | Before |
| Apr 2024 | 16 | Before |
| May 2024 | 21 | Before |
| Jun 2024 | 19 | Before |
| Jul 2024 | 19 | Before |
| Aug 2024 | 31 | Before |
| Sep 2024 | 22 | Before |
| Oct 2024 | 28 | Before (includes the first 3 days after) |
| Nov 2024 | 7 | After |
| Dec 2024 | 16 | After |
| Jan 2025 | 10 | After |
| Feb 2025 | 9 | After |
| Mar 2025 | 11 | After |
| Apr 2025 | 11 | After |
| May 2025 | 10 | After |
| Jun 2025 | 6 | After |
| Jul 2025 | 13 | After |
| Aug 2025 | 6 | After |
| Sep 2025 | 9 | After |
| Oct 2025 | 10 | After |
| Nov 2025 | 9 | After |
| Dec 2025 | 12 | After |
| Jan 2026 | 6 | After |
| Feb 2026 | 11 | After |
| Mar 2026 | 6 | After |
| Apr 2026 | 4 | After |
| May 2026 | 10 | After |
| Jun 2026 | 8 | After |
| Jul 2026 | 10 | After |
Where the alarms are · 2025
Mostly homes,
not workplaces.
Homes and other residential buildings account for 552 of the 767 (72.0%), and non-residential buildings for 28.0%, close to the London split. The property type with the most was “House - single occupancy” (144, 18.8% of the borough total), followed by “Purpose Built Flats/Maisonettes - Up to 3 storeys” (133). Across London the leading type is “Purpose Built Flats/Maisonettes - 4 to 9 storeys”.
Property types with the most AFA false alarms in Merton, 2025
Property type as recorded by London Fire Brigade crews. The percentage is the share of all AFA false alarms in the borough.
- Residential
- Non-residential
Show the numbers as a table
| Property type | Category | AFA false alarms | % of area total |
|---|---|---|---|
| House - single occupancy | Dwelling | 144 | 18.8% |
| Purpose Built Flats/Maisonettes - Up to 3 storeys | Dwelling | 133 | 17.3% |
| Self contained Sheltered Housing | Dwelling | 67 | 8.7% |
| Purpose Built Flats/Maisonettes - 4 to 9 storeys | Dwelling | 65 | 8.5% |
| Retirement/Old Persons Home | Other Residential | 38 | 5.0% |
| Infant/Primary school | Non Residential | 37 | 4.8% |
| Converted Flat/Maisonette - Up to 2 storeys | Dwelling | 32 | 4.2% |
| Secondary school | Non Residential | 23 | 3.0% |
In the league table
Next to Merton
in the ranking.
← Rank 27, one place higherHarrow833 in 2025 London False Alarm IndexAll 33 areasMap and league table Rank 29, one place lower →Bexley716 in 2025
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- City of London
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Buildings in Merton
If the alarms
are yours.
Gemini AMPM designs, installs, maintains and monitors fire alarm systems across London. Our fire alarm maintenance visits review the activation history each time, fire alarm monitoring puts a verification call between the panel and a 999 call, and remedial works covers the device and panel changes that remove a repeat cause.
Gemini AMPM in London: where we work and the sectors we work in. If false alarms are a problem in your building, tell us about it.
Data for Merton
Every figure on this page is in the borough table (CSV), with the same measures for all 33 areas and for London. Definitions and checks are on the methodology page.
This edition was generated on 5 October 2026 and covers incidents to 31 July 2026. The Index is refreshed when London Fire Brigade publishes new data.
Source and licence
Source: London Fire Brigade, London Fire Brigade Incident Records, published on the London Datastore (data.london.gov.uk). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0. The Greater London Authority cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of the data. This analysis is by Gemini AMPM. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with or approved by London Fire Brigade or the Greater London Authority.
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