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.
