The Hidden Cost of Unwanted False Fire Alarms in Healthcare: Why Unwanted Activations Are a $350 Million Problem in NSW
- IHEA Membership
- Sep 17
- 5 min read
Date: Weds, 22 Oct 2025
Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm AEDT
Location: Online via Zoom
Automatic fire alarms (AFAs) are critical to safety in healthcare facilities, where protecting lives is paramount and every minute matters. Hospitals, aged care homes, and clinics rely on these systems to alert staff, initiate evacuation procedures, and coordinate emergency responses. However, when alarms are triggered unnecessarily, they create significant financial, operational, and patient safety risks.
In New South Wales (NSW), research by W. Kathy Tannous estimates that unwanted AFAs cost society between AUD$246 million and AUD$349 million annually. While this figure covers all sectors, the costs within healthcare are particularly acute due to the vulnerability of patients, the complexity of evacuations, and the high operational costs of healthcare facilities.
The Frequency of False Alarms in Healthcare
Healthcare facilities are uniquely susceptible to false alarms. Research and operational experience suggest that over 95% of fire alarm activations in hospitals are false or unwanted.
The causes are varied:
Cooking, sterilization, and laboratory equipment: Smoke or steam from cafeterias, kitchens and nurses residences often triggers detectors.
Construction and maintenance activities: Dust, welding fumes, or aerosolized cleaning agents can set off alarms.
Environmental or external factors: Humidity, ventilation drafts, bush fires or air-conditioning systems in large hospital wings can create false triggers.
Technical malfunctions: Outdated systems or improperly calibrated detectors increase the likelihood of false activations.
Occupant error: Staff or visitors may accidentally trigger manual call points.
Unlike other environments, unwanted false alarms in hospitals could have significant consequences. Patients with limited mobility, critical care needs, or infections may require careful management during evacuations, meaning that even minor disruptions can pose significant risks.
The Economic Costs in Healthcare
False alarms in healthcare settings are not merely inconvenient—they carry substantial costs in emergency response, operational disruption, and patient care.
Fire Service and Emergency Response Costs
Healthcare facilities often require specialized emergency response:
Firefighters may need to coordinate with hospital staff, deactivate medical gas lines, or manage patient evacuation in high-dependency units.
Each activation involves multiple fire trucks, dozens of personnel, and often extended time on site.
Beyond financial costs, responding to false alarms ties up emergency services, potentially delaying responses to genuine emergencies elsewhere.
Disruptions to Patient Care
False alarms in hospitals disrupt essential healthcare services:
Evacuations interrupt surgeries, intensive care, and diagnostic procedures.
Medical equipment may need to be shut down or relocated to ensure patient safety.
Staff are diverted from routine care, reducing efficiency and increasing stress.
A single false alarm in a hospital operating theater can cost tens of thousands of dollars, not only in immediate disruption but in rescheduling surgeries and reallocating staff. Across NSW, cumulative disruptions from false alarms in healthcare settings are likely tens of millions annually.
Risk to Vulnerable Patients
Patients in hospitals and aged care facilities are among the most vulnerable populations. False alarms increase risk in multiple ways:
Delayed response: Alarm fatigue can lead staff to underestimate the severity of subsequent alerts.
Evacuation hazards: Moving critical care patients—such as those on ventilators or in isolation—introduces additional clinical risk.
Infection control breaches: Evacuations may necessitate moving patients across units, increasing exposure to pathogens.
In aged care facilities, false alarms can trigger panic or confusion, increasing falls, injuries, or cardiovascular stress among residents. The indirect costs of patient harm or injury, although difficult to quantify, are substantial.
Costs by Healthcare Facility Type
The impact of false alarms varies depending on facility size, patient complexity, and occupancy:
Large hospitals: Average cost per false alarm can exceed AUD$50,000 due to patient care disruption, staff mobilization, and evacuation logistics.
Aged care homes: Costs are high relative to size, given the need for staff-assisted evacuation and the vulnerability of residents.
Specialist clinics and diagnostic centres: Even short evacuations disrupt schedules, delay patient care, and incur financial losses.
High-density and critical care environments amplify the effects of false alarms. In intensive care units (ICUs), neonatal wards, or emergency departments, a single false alarm can interrupt multiple patients’ care simultaneously, increasing both human and financial costs.
Real-World Case Studies
Case Study 1: Regional Aged Care Facility
A regional aged care home had repeated false alarms triggered by aerosol sprays used for sanitation. Residents were evacuated multiple times, causing disorientation, falls, and anxiety. The facility incurred AUD$50,000 in staffing and operational costs and faced reputational damage from families concerned about resident safety. Fire and Rescue NSW
Case Study 2: Diagnostic Imaging Center
A false alarm in a busy diagnostic imaging center disrupted MRI and CT schedules, delaying urgent patient scans. The facility lost AUD$20,000 in revenue, with additional costs in rescheduling and staff overtime. For patients with time-critical diagnostics, delays posed health risks. Fire and Rescue NSW
Case Study 3: Large Shopping Centre
A major shopping centre in Queensland experienced a critical fire safety breach when a contactor isolated both of its critical sprinkler pumps for over 24 hours. Although the fire mimic panel alarmed, it was silenced due to a history of nuisance alerts and inadequate processes and training. This situation was only discovered during an unscheduled inspection.
Strategies to Reduce False Alarms in Healthcare
Healthcare-specific strategies can significantly reduce unwanted false activations while maintaining life-saving protection:
Upgrading Fire Panels and systems: Modern sensors can distinguish between smoke from cooking or steam and actual fire hazards.
Regular maintenance and calibration: Ensures detectors function correctly, reducing technical malfunctions.
Staff training and awareness: Educates employees on proper use of manual call points and the consequences of false activations.
Smart zoning and alarm management: Allows partial lockdowns or targeted alerts without full facility evacuation, minimizing patient disruption.
Audit and reporting protocols: Identify recurring false alarm causes for targeted intervention.
Adopting these strategies not only reduces costs but enhances patient safety, preserves staff focus, and maintains public trust in healthcare emergency systems.
Long-Term Implications for Healthcare Facilities
Repeated unwanted false alarms can have lasting consequences:
Operational inefficiency: Frequent disruptions reduce healthcare throughput and increase wait times.
Patient safety concerns: Evacuations of critical patients carry medical risks.
Alarm fatigue: Staff may become desensitized to warnings, increasing risk during genuine emergencies.
Financial strain: Repeated incidents add cumulative costs to already tight healthcare budgets.
Addressing these issues proactively ensures that emergency systems remain reliable, staff remain prepared, and patient care continues safely even in emergencies.
Conclusion
Automatic fire alarms are essential for protecting lives in healthcare facilities, but unwanted false activations carry serious financial, operational, and safety consequences. In NSW, unwanted AFAs cost society up to AUD$349 million annually, with a disproportionate impact on hospitals, aged care facilities, and clinics.
The costs in healthcare settings include:
Strain on fire services and emergency responders
Disruption to patient care and medical procedures
Increased risk for vulnerable patients, particularly in ICUs and aged care
Financial losses from staffing, operational delays, and rescheduled procedures
Long-term consequences, including alarm fatigue and reduced public trust
Reducing unwanted false alarms through technology upgrades, staff training, preventive maintenance, and smart alarm management is critical. Not only does this save millions of dollars, but it enhances patient safety, ensures operational efficiency, and maintains confidence in healthcare emergency systems.
Investing in these solutions today protects lives, preserves healthcare quality, and reduces preventable costs for years to come. Unwanted false alarms are not just an inconvenience—they are a hidden healthcare issue that demands attention.
To help healthcare facilities manage false alarms more effectively and maintain patient safety, a IHEA professional development session is scheduled:
PD: Reducing Unwanted Fire Alarms and Risk in Healthcare Assets
Date: Weds, 22 Oct 2025
Time: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm AEDT
Location: Online via Zoom
Participants will leave with actionable strategies to reduce unwanted false alarms, protect patient safety, and optimize operational continuity. This session is particularly valuable for risk managers, facilities managers, and healthcare administrators seeking practical guidance on aligning fire safety compliance with healthcare delivery.
Reference: Tannous, W. K. (2021). The economic cost of unwanted automatic fire alarms. Fire Safety Journal, 123, 103394. DOI: 10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103394
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