Most alarms are false and caused by user error, city and fire officials report

Wichita fire and police officials are teaming up to remind residents to check their security systems and reduce the number of false alarms.

The vast majority of alarm calls that police and fire resources respond to – well over 90 percent – are false, police Capt. Doug Nolte said Friday.

“You can imagine that is a drain on resources,” he said.

When a new ordinance spelling out penalties for false alarms went into effect on Oct. 1 in Wichita, there were 7,643 total alarms, according to statistics provided by the police department. Of that total, only 339 alarms were valid.

“The good news is those numbers are down from the year before,” Nolte said.

The false-alarm total over the same period the previous year was 8,116.

“We feel there is a positive trend starting,” he said.

More than 80 percent of false alarms are caused by user error, according to information posted on the city’s website, including unlocked doors and people not knowing the proper code to silence alarms when they accidentally set them off.

About half of the 200 fire alarm calls firefighters respond to each month are false, a figure Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp said “is really bothersome to us.”

The most common causes of false fire alarms are fumes from overcooked food – including burnt popcorn – and steam from showers.

Alarm systems are supposed to be registered with the city. Otherwise, users face a potential $150 fine. Regardless of whether the system is registered, the city also charges false-alarm fees that start at $40 with the second incident and increase to as much as $350 per incident for the 10th false alarm.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Most alarms are false and caused by user error, city and fire officials report."