Smoke alarm hush buttons, do you know what they are, why we have them and how they work? Keep reading as we explain all.
Out of the 37,000 house fires that occur in the UK every year, 35% of fire alarms did not sound. The biggest cause? The removal of batteries from smoke alarms or spent batteries not being replaced.
We are constantly reminded of the importance of checking that our alarms are still functioning and yet, people constantly fail to check their alarms monthly or replace the batteries twice a year. The reduction of false and nuisance soundings significantly reduces the neglect of alarms and will save lives.
Generally, the word ‘hush’ is something not often associated with fire alarms being that their sole purpose is to detect potentially deadly smoke and make you aware of it. However, there are situations when your fire alarm will ‘think’ there is deadly smoke in your home, when in fact you’re only making dinner for your family. A hush button will allow you to make dinner, take a shower, or light a match without having to endure the sound of an alarm every time you do. This “nuisance” factor is a primary reason many businesses look for wireless fire alarm systems to simplify maintenance and reduce false alerts, particularly in complex structures like schools or large leisure facilities.
The hush feature on an alarm will desensitise it to smoke for 7 minutes meaning, if you know every time you cook with oil it will go off, you can hush it beforehand to avoid the blaring sound. This temporary desensitisation must be carefully balanced with safety, which is why commercial settings often rely on sophisticated systems with video analytics and thermal detection to verify threats.
It will, however, let out a small chirp every 30 seconds, to let you know that the alarm is still hushed. An important note on this feature, if the smoke continues to be thick throughout the hush period the alarm will still sound. The alarm will also sound if smoke is still in the air after the 7-minute hush period is over.
Some people find their alarm is constantly being set off when there is no danger from smoke or fire. If this happens enough times, they may decide to remove the batteries from their alarm or disconnect it from the power supply.
Although a temporary fix to misfires, the risk of death by fire in a home is doubled without a functioning alarm.
The function of a hush button will allow these people to temporarily disable their alarm should it misfire, or pre-emptively disable it when doing an activity likely to set it off. Therefore, a hush button completely removes the ‘nuisance’ element of an alarm and significantly reduces the number of homes with defective alarms due to the removal of batteries. This benefit extends to commercial environments, where system maintenance is crucial. A proactive approach to reducing false alarms is a key component of effective fire alarm monitoring, ensuring the system is always active when it matters most.
False alarms remain a significant drain on resources. False alarms make up around 40% of all call-outs for the fire services in the UK and cost millions in taxpayers’ money. Recent Home Office statistics show that Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) in England attended 212,504 false alarms in 2023/24, highlighting this ongoing challenge.
Time spent on these unnecessary calls has a knock-on effect on the amount of time that can be spent by the fire crew on training, community safety and could potentially delay attendance of the fire services to a genuine emergency. This is why having an important fire alarm monitoring system that filters out these nuisance calls is a critical investment.
The use of a hush button would reduce the number of false calls made to the fire services in HMOs and high-rise buildings, therefore significantly reducing the unnecessary use of their time and resources. For commercial buildings, especially those within the waste management sector where dust or steam can trigger sensors, intelligent systems are preferred over reliance on manual intervention. Reducing the amount of distraction to the fire service could potentially save the lives of those in real emergencies.
While hush buttons address nuisance alarms in domestic and smaller HMO settings, commercial premises must adhere to stricter regulations. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places the responsibility for fire safety squarely on the ‘Responsible Person’ within the business. This includes ensuring all fire detection systems are professionally installed, regularly maintained, and meet the necessary categories and grades. This is particularly vital in complex operational environments such as food processing plants or large-scale retail outlets where a fire could lead to catastrophic loss. Furthermore, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have reinforced the legal duty for building owners to provide residents with information on fire safety and to inspect fire doors, which is a key consideration for those in property management. Businesses should understand their obligations and consider a comprehensive fire risk assessment to identify high-risk areas and ensure they are not found liable, as understanding legal responsibility in fire incidents at work is essential for long-term business continuity.
Beyond detection, a complete fire safety strategy encompasses fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, and clear fire safety signage to ensure effective evacuation. Failure to maintain these elements can invalidate insurance and lead to prosecution. For peace of mind and compliance, businesses should partner with accredited providers who offer connected and managed fire services. Having a specialist conduct regular predictive maintenance on these critical systems ensures reliability and helps businesses budget for essential upkeep, moving beyond reactive fixes to proactive safety management.
People living in high rise buildings or HMOs are six times more likely to be killed in a fire-related incident. In fact, 35% of fire-related deaths and 40% of fire-related injuries happen on these types of premises. Therefore, a quick and efficient evacuation plan is often in place in order to get all the occupants out of the building in an emergency. Businesses should ensure their plan is robust, factoring in modern challenges as explored in our guide on top fire safety challenges for high-rise office buildings.
However, false alarms resulting in regular evacuations can often begin to annoy occupants in a high-rise or HMO buildings. This may lead them to either remove the batteries from their own alarm, to avoid causing a nuisance for their neighbours or worse, ignore legitimate alarms in a genuine emergency.
The implementation of hush features would allow them to avoid regular evacuation and trust that when an alarm begins to sound, that they are in an actual emergency.
For those regularly experience false alarms, they often become accustomed to the sound and it no longer invokes the intended level of urgency within them. This lack of urgency can be countered by training fire safety champions within your team.
This may cause them to ignore alarms in a genuine state of emergency, putting themselves in serious danger. An analysis by the British Safety Council highlights that complacency caused by repeated false alarms is one of the most critical threats to safety in multi-occupancy buildings.
A hush feature on alarms would mean false soundings can be instantly stopped and therefore residents can trust that a sustained alarm means that it is a legitimate emergency. This trust is paramount in maintaining safety protocols and ensuring occupants are not tempted to ignore the warnings, which is a major focus when considering the importance of integrating security and fire systems.
BusinessWatch are a NSI approved provider of security and fire safety services for businesses across the UK. Our knowledgeable team also offers free advice for organisations looking to bolster their safety and security measures.
We have vast experience protecting a wide range of commercial sectors, from education to utilities, and can help you develop a robust, compliant fire safety plan. Call us on 0330 094 7404 today.
