Preventable or "Nuisance" Alarms
When a fire alarm goes off, SFD responds as if this is real emergency and sends an engine or truck and multiple firefighters. Unfortunately, almost one in three times the Seattle Fire Department is called to a fire, it turns out to have been a false alarm, where there is no fire emergency at the building.
The Seattle Fire Department responds to roughly 8,000 false alarms per year. This is a large drain on our resources and may impact our ability to respond as quickly as possible to you or your family when you have a true emergency. Preventable alarms take first responders out of service for legitimate emergencies. Please help us to reduce preventable or “nuisance” alarms.
Prevent false alarms: Here are steps you can take to prevent “nuisance” alarms.
Citations: If you are a building owner and your building is responsible for multiple preventable alarms, you may receive a citation. Citations may be written when more than one preventable alarm is transmitted in a calendar year quarter (example: the first quarter of the year is January, February and March). Citation amounts are $433 (for 2-5 preventable alarms), $866 (for 6-8 preventable alarms) and $1,044 (for 9+ preventable alarms). You must respond to the Office of the Hearing Examiner within 15 days of receiving a citation and either pay the citation, or else request a mitigation hearing (if you agree you committed the violation but would like to make a case to have the penalty reduced) or to contest the citation (if you disagree you committed the violation). Read the back of your citation closely and carefully follow directions.
- Hearing Examiner – Information about Responding to Citations
- Language assistance – If you need language assistance, please email SFD_FMO_Data@seattle.gov in your language or English, or call us at (206) 386-1450. We will provide translation assistance.
Invest in Lieu Program: Instead of paying a citation penalty, property owners can invest in improving or fixing their fire alarm system to help prevent future false alarms. Property owners receive a reduction in their citation up to the full amount, for each dollar they spend on authorized improvements to their fire alarm system. Information about this program is included with the citation. Please contact SFD_FMO_Data@seattle.gov if you would like more information about this program.