Fire crews winning hoax calls battle

In the North-East, brigades were struggling to cope with the number of false calls, which waste valuable time and money, as well as putting people's lives at risk.

Now operators are using a Caller Challenge system to weed out as many of the hoaxers as possible, without running the risk of failing to attend real fires.

Dave Turnbull, of Durham and Darlington Fire Brigade, said the North-East had one of the worst track records for false calls, with each one costing the taxpayer £1,100.

He said that three years ago there were 2,500 hoax calls made to the fire service in County Durham. The following year this was down to 910 and last year there were 546, thanks to the new system.

"These calls take front line fire appliances away from their real job of tackling fires and saving lives, that's why we have taken such a tough stance on this," he said.

Caller Challenge means that when emergency services operators believe hoaxers are on the line, they can challenge them and give them the opportunity to hang-up.

The brigade can also disconnect mobile phone Sim cards belonging to offenders as a way of deterring them.

Since adopting the policy, Durham and Darlington Brigade has chosen not to attend 408 hoax calls, saving the taxpayer almost £450,000.

Mark Whelan, director of operations and community safety at Cleveland Fire Brig-ade, said it had used the system for 18 months and hoax calls were down by a half.

"We can't afford to take the risk of getting it wrong, so there are ways of making sure there is not a fire," he said.

Operators can see where every caller is ringing from, which helps identify hoaxers.

They also know that a caller from one town reporting a fire in another is probably a hoaxer. Multiple calls are usually received about genuine fires.

"We make sure that if the decision is taken not to attend, it is a low risk fire," he said.

By not attending the fake calls, officers also had more time for fire prevention and community safety work.