Fire Alarm Activations in Schools - Jan 2024 - September 2025

Original Request

Dear Sir/Madam Could you please provide me with a breakdown of the schools where fire alarm activations originated from, whether IOMFRS attended, and also the cause, such as activation of a Fire Alarm Call Point, or a Smoke/Heat Detector. From January 2024 to September 2025. Please include any dates/times (if available) Many thanks

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Station/s Address Date Time INFO Fault with Appliance Aerosal / Shower Steam / Air Freshner Renovation / Maintenance Work Avoidable Water Ingress No Reason Found Faulty Detector System Error /Dust /Thrips G4S Testing Low Incoming Water Pressure/ Weather Pupils / Possible External Vandalism Douglas Braddan School Douglas 06/01/24 22:17 Activation zone 1, could see detector inside front door, left with keyholder YES Douglas IOM College, Homefield Road, Douglas 23/01/24 09:06 Detector operated in the toilets of hair and beauty department due to vaping. Advice given YES Castletown Castle Rushen High School, Arbory Road, Castletown 26/01/24 11:22 Detector acitvated in library due to deodorant spray being used. Engineers will check over system YES Castletown Castle Rushen High School Arbory Road Castletown 01/02/24 17:25 Engineer onsite looking for fault, no action YES Douglas Ballakermeen High School St Catherines Drive Douglas 07/02/24 19:31 Activation in sports hall corridor, no obvious reason for activation. Silenced panel and left with keyholder to arrange DOI to attend YES Douglas Ballakermeen High School St Catherines Drive Douglas 08/02/24 08:52 Unknown area of activation due to panel being reset upon arrival. Non fire YES Douglas Braddan School, Braddan Road, Douglas 09/02/24 13:51 Detector operated in year 10/11 Classroom for no reason. YES Douglas Onchan Primary School School Road Onchan 11/02/24 12:52 Detector operated in ground floor corridor, detector was replaced by responsible person and system reset YES Douglas Braddan School, Braddan Road, Douglas 14/02/24 21:29 Zone 6 no apparent reason. Handed over toDOI to sort the system YES Ramsey Dhoon School Glen Mona 15/02/24 03:26 Activation in boiler room, keyholder to arrange engineer YES Douglas Braddan Primary School, Braddan Road, Douglas 16/02/24 15:14 Panel showing activation in zone 6, juniors section area - possible due to dust/fault. Advice given - electrician to attend YES Castletown Ballasalla Primary School Douglas Road Ballasalla 22/02/24 11:43 Detector activated in outdoor bin storage area, engineer to attend YES Douglas William Kennish Engineering, Homefield Road, Douglas 12/03/24 20:08 Activation on first floor, MCP activated in error. BGP Replaced by vrew and reset YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School West Building Lezaure Road Ramsey 13/03/24 12:59 Alarm activation, stood down prior to arrival, false activation YES Douglas Ballakermeen High School St Catharines Drive Douglas 16/03/24 22:15 Detector operated in caretakers cleaning cupboard, detector isolated by DOI rep, system reset YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School East Building Lezaure Road Ramsey 22/03/24 16:29 Stood down, communication error between G4S and RGS, system should have been offline YES Douglas St Ninians School Ballaquayle Road Douglas 30/03/24 02:13 Detector operated 1st floor corridor outside classroom 37 for no apparent reason, left with keyholder YES Douglas Ballakermeen 06/04/24 22:42 Detector operated in ground floor corridor for no apparent reason. Left with keyholder YES Douglas Vallajeelt 11/04/24 16:51 Activated in waiting area on ground floor, possible water ingress in smoke detector. System silenced, DOI engineer to attend YES Peel St Johns 13/04/24 22:00 AFA activation zone 1 no apparent reason. Keyholder isolated device YES Douglas Ballakermeen 20/04/24 00:16 Activation in sports hall, left with engineer to attend and interogate panel YES Douglas Scoill Yn Jubilee (Ballaquayle) 23/04/24 13:35 Stood down enroute YES Ramsey Bunscoill Rhumsaa 21/05/24 01:57 Caller could hear alarm in area, nothing found on arrival, panel showing healthy YES Douglas St Ninians LOWER 24/05/24 11:12 Manual call point activated intentionally in English Dept. CCTV to be checked to identify who activated. Crew replaced breakglass and system was reset YES Douglas Ballakermeen 01/06/24 05:32 Detector operated in kitchen area due to heat from hobs. YES Douglas Ballakermeen 02/06/24 05:25 Operated in kitchen are due to cooking, advice given. System left silent for DOI electrician to attend YES Douglas Willaston 02/06/24 09:52 Manual call point activated in school hall due to a fault. Panel left silent for electrician to attend YES Douglas Scoill Yn Jubilee (Ballaquayle) 21/06/24 17:29 Fire alarm showing healthy, cabin also checked, no activation YES Douglas St Ninians Upper School Ballaquayle Road Douglas 05/07/24 22:57 Detector located in careers room, no apparent reason for activation. Detector isolated and system reset by DOI Estates YES Douglas Willaston School Douglas 21/07/24 03:01 Panel showed activation zone 2, 360 carried out. DOI attended and made entry with crew, detector located in toilets with unknown activation, left silent with DOI YES Kirk Michael Ballaugh School Station Road Ballaugh 30/07/24 08:13 Stood down YES Peel QEII High School Douglas Road Peel 01/08/24 02:01 Alarm activation in main dining hall. Detector located and DOI keyholder isolated detector from system until engineer could attend YES Castletown Castle Rushen High School, Arbory Road, Castletown 01/08/24 05:06 Activation in DT3 for no apparent reason. Electrician to attend YES Peel QEII High School Douglas Road Peel 06/08/24 04:11 Alarm activation in first floor toilets. Detector located and DOI keyholder isolated detector from system until engineer could attend YES Douglas Ballacottier School Clybane Road Douglas 08/08/24 00:10 Detector operated in special needs classroom 1 for no apparent reason YES Douglas University College IOM Homefield Road Douglas 26/08/24 18:53 Zone 2 Victor Neale room 23 activated for no obvious reason.
Area isolated by keyholder YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School West Lezayre Road Ramsey 02/09/24 19:12 Failure by contractor to inform ESJCR of work being carried out on system caused activation, advice given YES Peel Bunscoil Ghaelgagh Main Road St Johns 03/09/24 08:00 AFA was in test and G4S were contacted but still notified ESJCR. Headteacher to investigate further YES Douglas Scoill Vallajeelt Douglas 04/09/24 10:26 Detector activated in kitchen due to cooking, panel left silent and with responsible person YES Douglas Scoill Vallajeelt Douglas 04/09/24 11:40 Detector activated in kitchen again due to cooking, panel left silent with engineer YES Douglas Ballakermeen High School St Catherines Drive Douglas 06/09/24 10:25 Stood down prior to arrival YES Douglas St Ninians Lower School Heywood Avenue Onchan 06/09/24 11:17 Activated zone 1 rehearsal room cupboard first floor. Possibly due to dust/insects. Left in silent for engineer to attend YES Douglas St Ninians School Ballaquayle Road Douglas 10/09/24 06:03 Activation in mobile classroom store room. Silenced panel and left with keyholder to arrange engineer YES Douglas St Ninians Lower School Heywood Avenue Onchan 14/09/24 01:59 Panel had gone into fault mode. Crews checked the building, left with keyholder to arrange engineer to attend YES Peel QEII Douglas Road Peel 16/09/24 07:51 AFA operated in canteen laundry room for no apparent reason.
Advice given, engineer to attend YES Douglas St Ninians High School Ballaquayle Road Douglas 06/10/24 02:05 Unknown due to non attendance of keyholder YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School, Lezayre Road, Ramsey 08/10/24 17:30 Steam in cleaners cupboard YES Peel Bunscoill Ghaelgagh Main Road St Johns 09/10/24 07:23 System on test, G4S still contacted ESJCR, advice given YES Douglas Ballakermeen High School, St Catherines Drive, Douglas 17/10/24 23:15 Activation in female locker room - Gym Complex. Detector isolated from system. YES Douglas St Ninian's Lower School, Heywood Avenue, Onchan 09/11/24 09:11 Activation in zone 1 - Rehearsal room store cupboard. Known mechanical fault. Electrician arranged to attend and confirmed he would keep the panel in silent mode until fault rectified. YES Douglas Murrays Road School, Palatine Road, Douglas 14/11/24 00:57 Detector activated in roof void for unknown reason. Detector removed by DOI and system left in silence. Left in hands of DOI. No sign of smoke or fire. Advice given YES Douglas Henry Bloom Noble Primary School Westmoreland Road Douglas 25/11/24 11:55 Detector activated in ground floor kitchen area of Orrys Unit due to burnt toast. Area vented and alarm panel reset YES Douglas St Ninians Lower School Heywood Avenue Onchan 04/12/24 18:13 Zone 15 activated, first floor boys toilets. Deliberate fire set by school students. Fire extinguisher had been used prior to arrival. Large roll of toilet roll had been set alight. Crews removed it in a bucket and extinguished outside. Vented with PPV fan YES Rushen Port St Mary Primary School Station Road Port St Mary 07/12/24 19:50 Alarm activated due to high winds and double doors not locked properly. Keyholder attended and reset alarm, zone 4 had activated YES Douglas IOM College Greenfield Road Douglas 11/12/24 18:31 Stood down en route, caretaker contacted ESJCR to inform someone had been vaping in the toilets YES Kirk Michael Ballaugh Primary School Station Road Ballaugh 30/12/24 08:54 Alarm activated for no apparent reason, no detectors found to have activated. System reset by keyholder YES Peel QEII School Douglas Road Peel 07/01/25 08:13 AFA activated due to faulty kettle not switching off and filling room with steam. Kettle removed and disposed of YES Peel St Johns Old School St Johns 10/01/25 18:06 AFA reported by alarm monitoring company, on attendance crews found no alarm activating, fire panel healthy YES Douglas Fairfield School Fairfield Terrace Douglas 13/01/25 20:50 Detector activated 2nd floor storeroom possibly due to damp YES Douglas Scooil Vallajeelt Meadow Crescent Douglas 26/01/25 05:27 Activated in admin office of St Thomas's school, keyholder silenced alarm panel and disabled zone YES Douglas Onchan Primary School 25/02/25 20:43 Alarm activated zone 6 girls toilets likely due to air freshener.
System silenced, left with keyholder YES Ramsey Bunscoill Rhumsaa Lezayre Road Ramsey 14/03/25 12:09 Fault with breakglass point in dining room/sports hall. Engineer called to replace and fix breakglass ppint YES Douglas Cronk Y Berry Primary School Douglas 17/03/25 18:20 Detector activated in zone 10 due to steam from washing machine on high cycle, machine was isolated. No sign of smoke or fire, advice givenn YES Douglas Anagh Coar School Darragh Passage Douglas 08/04/25 03:46 Zone 4 library area, left silent, keyholder contacting engineer YES Peel Bunscoill Ghaelgagh Main Road St Johns 14/04/25 10:43 Alarm activated in mobile classroom due to maintenance works being carrid out. Advice given to DOI rep to ensure alarms are put on test during repair works YES Douglas Marown School Glen Darragh Road Glen Vine 17/04/25 16:32 Accidental activation due to dust from building works. Advice given, panel left silent YES Douglas St Ninians Lower School, Heywood Avenue, Onchan 22/04/25 20:49 Stood down prior to arrival YES Douglas Henry Bloom Noble School Westmoreland Road Douglas 24/04/25 16:43 Fire alarm set off due to testing. Advice given YES Douglas Onchan Primary School School Road Onchan 25/04/25 11:45 Accidental activation in dining hall due to steam from cooker.
Panel reset once fumes had vented. Advice given YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School Lezayre Road Ramsey 26/04/25 15:32 Visual check of outside building, unable to gain access, keyholder 40 mins away YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School Lezayre Road Ramsey 26/04/25 16:00 Activation in void above stage, keyholder to isolate and call engineer YES Castletown Castle Rushen High School Arbory Road Castletown 25/04/25 10:13 Activated in the toilets by drama block, caused by vaping.
Room was clear on arrival. System reset and panel showing healthy YES Castletown Ballasalla School Douglas Road Castletown 07/06/25 18:33 Alarm reset prior to arrival, unable to locate detector head YES Castletown Victoria Road School School Lane Castletown 14/06/25 11:30 Detector activated in reception office for no apparent reason, keyholder to reset YES Peel QE2 High School, Douglas Road, Peel 25/06/25 02:38 AFA operated reason unknown. External checks made. YES Ramsey Ramsey Grammar School Lezayre Road Ramsey 25/06/25 07:32 Activation due to testing, G4S did not take offline YES Castletown Castle Rushen High School Arbory Road Castletown 25/06/25 08:57 Detector activated in boys toilets due to smell, probably a vape.
Staff asked to vent room before resetting system yes Douglas Ballakermeen School Douglas 26/06/25 11:26 System activated in crawl space, unable to locate, system reset by caretaker YES Douglas Braddan School, Braddan Road, Braddan 30/06/25 12:08 Activation in Zone 1. Kitchen/Office toilet due to air freshner. DOI To attend and check the system YES

Policy, Strategy and Governance Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Thie Slieau Whallian Foxdale Road St Johns IM4 3AS

Telephone: (01624) 685808
Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im

Our ref: 4921838 23rd September 2025

Dear ###,

We write further to your request, received 8 September 2025, which states:

"Dear Sir/Madam

Could you please provide me with a breakdown of the schools where fire alarm activations originated from, whether IOMFRS attended, and also the cause, such as activation of a Fire Alarm Call Point, or a Smoke/Heat Detector. From January 2024 to September 2025. Please include any dates/times (if available)

Many thanks"

Our response to your request is as follows:

Please find attached the information held relating to the period January 2024 to June 2025.
In respect of the period July-September 2025, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance a practical refusal applies as per Section 11 (3) (b) of the Act. Namely, to comply with this element of your request for information would require the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds. The reason being the information held for the period July-September 2025 is held within each individual schools Fire Precaution Logbook.
By way of advice and assistance the Department expect to hold the requested information for the period July-September 2025 by the end of October 2025, in the same format as enclosed for the period January 2024 to June 2025. You may wish to submit a further Freedom of Information request at this time to request the remaining information.
Please quote the reference number 4921838 in any future communications.

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If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and su

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