A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was sent to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) asking for a breakdown of school fire alarm activations from January 2024 to June 2025, what caused them, which schools the incidents happened at and whether the fire service attended.
The information published by DESC shows eight fire alarms were triggered by either pupils or vandalism.
There have been around 80 incidents recorded over that period, with no reason found for most of the activations.
Of the eight caused by pupils or vandalism, one at University College Isle of Man (UCM) involved an alarm going off in the hair and beauty department due to vaping.
Another incident at Bunscoill Ghaelgagh in St John’s on September 3 last year is suspected to have been caused by either a pupil or vandalism, but records show the head is ‘investigating further’.
There was a similar incident at the same school just over a month later on October 9, also suspected to be vandalism.
A more serious incident occurred at St Ninian’s Lower School in Onchan when a deliberate fire was started by pupils in the boys’ toilets on December 4 last year. A large roll of toilet paper was set alight at 6.13pm. Fire crews attended and extinguished the blaze.
Fire crews were stood down en route to UCM on December 11 after an alarm was activated. It was quickly established the cause was vaping.
On April 25 the fire alarm activated at Castle Rushen High School after someone vaped in the toilets in the drama block. The area was clear by the time crews arrived.
On June 6 at the same school the detector was activated in the boys’ toilets, probably due to vaping once more. Staff vented the room before resetting the system.
At Ballakermeen High School on June 26 the alarm was activated in a crawl space. The cause was not established but it is suspected pupils or vandalism were to blame.
Many fire alarms were caused by faults or technical issues, while others were linked to aerosol sprays or steam.
At Castle Rushen High School the detector was activated in the library on January 26 last year by a deodorant spray.
Steam in the cleaners’ cupboard set off the alarm at Ramsey Grammar School on October 8, while a faulty kettle caused the alarm at QEII School in Peel on January 7 this year.
Meanwhile, air freshener was deemed the cause of an alarm going off in the girls’ toilets at Onchan Primary School on February 25.
Steam from a washing machine on a high cycle set off the alarm at Cronk Y Berry Primary School in Douglas on March 17.
At Onchan Primary on April 25 the detector was activated in the dining hall due to steam from a cooker, while air freshener in the staff toilet set off the alarm at Braddan School on June 30.