ALMOST half of all call outs by fire crews last year were false alarms, including hundreds from malicious hoaxers putting lives in serious danger . Data from the Home Office reveals that 47 percent of all incidents attended by the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service in the year up to September 2020 were false alarms. This equates to more than 6,000 incidents. Of those, 209 were “malicious” incidents, linked to hoax calls or alarms being set off where there was no fire, which has prompted an agry response from the Hampshire Fire Brigades Union. They say the calls take firefighters away from responding to genuine emergencies, “endangering” lives ,and is calling for the government to increase funding to allow for recruitment to increase prevention work.