Nothing Showing

[chrizby]

After using my scanner for the last 10 months, I am shocked at the number of false alarms that the
fire department has to put up with. The phrase 'Nothing Showing' is all too familiar to me now, and
I have to think it has a terrible effect on the morale of everyone involved, from the dispatcher to
the firemen. (Let alone the incredible costs associated with every false alarm.)

I hate to say it, but I have a little private bet that such and such a run will indeed will end up with a
"Nothing Showing" and I can only imagine what the person on that run has to feel at 4:00am.

So, I was wondering first if the phrase 'nothing showing' is commonly used to indicate a false alarm,
and second if there is anything that can be done about false alarms.

[mdulrich]

Nothing showing doesn't indicate a false alarm, it indicates that there is no fire or smoke showing upon arrival. There could still be a problem inside the house that just hasn't gotten to the point of showing itself to the outside world.

In my 27+ years of fire service there were quite a few times that there was a mattress on fire in the house, a basement fire, fire in the walls or attic that just hadn't gotten big enough to show from the outside. I had a few fires that had burned themself out and once we almost missed it until we noticed that all the windows were black. (Hard to see that at 2:00 in the morning) Large commercial structures can hide a lot of fire until the building is opened up.

Don't stop listening just because there is nothing showing.

Mike

[ofd8001]

When we first arrive on the scene of an incident, we do a report of conditions found. The three choices we have are "Working Fire", "Smoke Showing" or "Nothing Showing" (if neither of the first two are applicable). All this does is help other arriving units mentally prepare for activity or inactivity.

There are several classifications of "False Alarms". It could be a fire alarm system that was activated. That activation could be due to several things. One is it actually detected something early and we got there while it was still "nothing showing" as compared to being there a half hour later and then reporting "Working Fire", Some times there are problems with the alarm system, such as detecting steam from a shower, or stuff related to cooking. Another reason could be due to lack of maintenance, such as spiders in the sensing chamber of a detection device that caused obscuration and thus activation. Some times small children who don't know any better pull the manual fire alarm stations (as one of mine almost did at age 4).

Outside of the alarm system activations there are other types of calls we make. Someone could be smelling something burning, so they call 911. We get there and find a cigarette butt smoldering somewhere, or maybe something plastic falling on the dishwasher's heating element and melting. We see a lot of furnace blower motors overheating that could cause a fire if not attended too. Overheated flourescent light ballasts happen a lot too, and they can lead to a fire. So while you probably called "nothing showing" upon arrival, there was a valid reason to call the fire department because it could have been something small that could have gotten bad. Also it is a pretty safe bet that when heating season begins, we'll get a few calls because of the dust on furnace burners cooking off.

The good news is that malicious false alarms are very rare these days, where someone calls the fire department knowing there isn't a reason for us to be there, but are bored and need some excitement. With the enhanced 911 systems for hard-wire telephone lines and the ability to trace back cell calls, catching those who call in such alarms are easily found, and they do get prosecuted.

There's an old saying in the fire business that "Smells and Bells" make up about 90% of our calls. It can be frustrating, but it is an unfortunate fact of life. I think most everyone takes these things in stride as a normal part of the business. That's not to say I haven't done my share of fussing at people whose defective alarms go off at 1AM, 2AM, 3AM and 4AM, telling them to get the system fixed.

All in all I think I'm happy that there are so many fire alarm systems around, even if they do activate from time to time. Over the 35 years, I'm sure I've made hundreds and hundreds of fire alarm activations, with only maybe ten of them being something where we had to lay hose. (One of those it would have been better if we stayed in the fire station. Despite a great effort at saving the building, they tore it down any way and re-built it. If we stayed at the fire station there would have been less stuff to haul away).

I've got a saying that is applicable. "It's better to have us and not need us, instead of needing us and not having us."

I do appreciate the consideration and knowing someone out there who is thinking about our well-being.

[chrizby]

That is really good to know and trust me alot of people with a scanner really appreciate the work done by everyone involved.
Come to think of it there was a call last night and I wondered why the guy was still on the scene because someone else had already given the "nothing showing" signal quite some time before.

Great info and really appreciated.

[ofd8001]

The "Nothing Showing" call is given by the first arriving unit when they arrive. There's a zillion reasons why a unit could remain on the scene for an extended time. Waiting on property representatives, or waiting for another responding agency such as the Health Department if some weird odor was discovered, or the arson squad if someone tried to set a fire but it didn't engage the building, and so on.

[Drewstang]

Originally Posted by ofd8001

That's not to say I haven't done my share of fussing at people whose defective alarms go off at 1AM, 2AM, 3AM and 4AM, telling them to get the system fixed.

The tones still ring in my head, followed by "Fire Alarm Sounding, 3625 Fern Valley Rd, Fransican Healthcare." I think I heard it nearly once a day while on OFD.

[LouisvilleScanMan]

Originally Posted by Drewstang

The tones still ring in my head, followed by "Fire Alarm Sounding, 3625 Fern Valley Rd, Fransican Healthcare." I think I heard it nearly once a day while on OFD.

HAHA My mom used to work there.

[daveharpe]

It amazes me how many false runs go out to a handful of specific locations EVERY DAY. They should just go ahead and locate a fire station at Dosker Manor - it would be cheaper.

[LouisvilleScanMan]

LFR Engine 5/Truck 2 AKA

The Dosker Manor Fire Department.

[APTN]

Just because there is nothing showing doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I personally experienced what appeared to be a false alarm in college. I later found out the reason for the alarm and FD response was a gas leak.

[n5ims]

Originally Posted by APTN

Just because there is nothing showing doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I personally experienced what appeared to be a false alarm in college. I later found out the reason for the alarm and FD response was a gas leak.

Here's a link to a tragic example of a "nothing showing" call that was indeed a very real emergency where tragically there was loss of life.
Woman and grandson perish in Fort Worth fire | Latest News | WFAA.com

[daveharpe]

They need to build a fire station next door to Dosker Manor, or just park an engine and a truck out front. Seems like there's a run there once an hour.